The Burden of the Gods
by SmartAlek7
Summary: 1000 years after the Mane Six first use the Elements of Harmony, a grief maddened Twilight Sparkle seeks to eliminate death, the passage of time, and entropy itself. Starting a war against Celestia and anyone else who might stand in her way, can anyone stop her from destroying the delicate balance of nature?
1. Prologue & Chapter 1

**Author's note: I wrote this with the intention of the reader being up to speed on certain things. So, to get the most out of this, I suggest catching up to the end of season six of MLP FIM. And also, read a different fan-fiction called Past Sins, by Pen Stroke. (If you look for it on the Google Play store, spell it "Paste" Sins because there is a typo.) No, I did not write it, but it influenced a lot of my writing. Other than that, please enjoy!**

Prologue

Once upon a time; in the magical land of Equestria, two alicorn sisters ruled in harmony. The eldest; Celestia, brought forth the day, and the younger; Luna, in turn, the night. This was the way of things for many generations. Until one fateful day.

The younger sister, having grown bitter after so many years watching others frolic in her sister's day, only to turn away from her beautiful night, acted on these feelings and confronted her older sister. Though her sister tried to console her, she refused to lower the moon to make forth the day. The anger and jealousy in the younger sisters' heart transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness; Nightmare Moon.

A battle began between them, destroying much of the castle where they ruled from. The eldest prevailed, but only just, using empowered gems known as the Elements of Harmony, she banished her dear sister, sealing her, and the danger she posed, into the moon for a thousand years.

But, upon the summer solstice of the thousandth year, Nightmare Moon returned, bringing with her a rage and thirst for vengeance that had grown unquenchable during her imprisonment.

She sought out Celestia and banished her to the sun, seeing it as a fitting punishment. She then traveled to the festival the princess of the sun was to attend, taking the missing princess's place and dramatically revealing herself to her sun loving subjects as having returned. But, no one remembered her. Except one lavender unicorn, who had stumbled upon the legend of the Mare in the moon (the only remaining legend of her) and the story of gems that had imprisoned her. Nightmare Moon left, seeing no threat but for the small bookworm who might know the one threat to her rule.

She followed the lavender pony to the library, where she discovered the location of the Elements of Harmony by eavesdropping on six ponies, including the unicorn; the only ones who knew anything about her or the Elements. However, life on the moon had been dull and lackluster, and the twisted mare wanted some entertainment. She ventured to the path where the six would be headed and arranged trials for the travelers. This was to be her undoing though, for the six ponies overcame them without a scratch, one of them even had the gall to begin singing a song.

While Nightmare Moon was recovering from her shock, the six reached the Elements of Harmony. Nightmare Moon rushed into the old decrepit castle, whisking away the elements and the lavender unicorn away, leaving the other five ponies. The unicorn; despite unexpectedly being teleported, attempted to use the Elements. But, lacking the sixth gem; the one that controlled the rest, she was destined to fail.

All was not lost however, for the remaining five ponies had found her and rushed to her aid. The purple unicorn, being relieved at seeing them, though they had only met that day, she realized that they were her friends, and that friendship was required to bring the last element out of hiding. In a brilliant burst of light, the last Element appeared, and the six friends used the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon and free both sisters from their imprisonment; Celestia from the sun, and Luna from the hatred that had created Nightmare Moon. The sisters were reunited, the pony who sang the song threw a party, and all was as it should be.

This was the beginning of a truly great story, and a truly horrible monster.

Chapter One

Celestia looked across what had once been Ponyville, reflecting on what had led her faithful student, friend, and colleague to become more feared than even Nightmare Moon could ever be.

* * *

It was raining.

All of Equestria had gathered to mourn the loss of one of Equestria's most respected and praised heroes; Rainbow Dash.

Since she was a Wonderbolt, all the Pegasus ponies were attending and off duty; the reason for the falling water. Princess Celestia stood with her head lowered in respect for the veteran flier.

Speaking in front of the massive crowd was the only living pony who could claim to be her family, one of the three founders of the Cutie Mark Crusaders; Scootaloo. "She was the best sister anypony could ever ask for, she taught me that even though I'll never be able to fly, I can be the best at what I'm meant to do. Wherever she is now, I hope there are clear skies and a sound barrier to break, because those... were her… her…" she stepped down from the podium, unable to say anything else over the grief of losing her adopted sister.

A few others stood to speak for the hero. To some; she was a teacher, to others; a pony who had given them hope. But none of the speakers were her old friends, Twilight Sparkle just couldn't bring herself to speak, and the rest of the crew had passed before her, peacefully and of old age.

The ceremony ended and most set out to return to their homes. Celestia, thinking herself alone, approached the grave to convey her respects, reading the engraved words that said:

 **Rainbow Dash**

Leader, Sister, and above all, Friend.

"Heaven just got about

twenty percent cooler."

"Thank you, Miss Dash, for saving Equestria countless times. If you were a member of the guard, I would have to make a new medal for you. Your loyalty is why I can stand here today. Rest in peace, friend."

Turning to leave, she was surprised to find that one other pony had remained; Twilight Sparkle. "Why?" was all her student said.

"Why what?" Celestia replied, feeling that this would not be a happy conversation.

"Why are alicorns immortal? Why did you have me become one!? WHY, did you dub me the princess of friendship, fully knowing that I would outlive all my friends by an eternity!?" Her voice rising in volume as she asked.

"Because, Equestria needed more ponies to look up to. They needed leaders they can trust with their lives and safety. This world is far too dangerous, cruel and vast for me and my sister to protect it alone. That, my faithful student, is why you are an alicorn."

"What am I now?" Twilight asked, returning her voice to a softer, hopeless tone. "I am hardly a princess of friendship without friends."

"Only time will tell, Twilight."

* * *

The memory faded, and Celestia once again found herself in Canterlot castle. She had started crying without realizing it. "If only I could have said more to comfort you, Twilight. But instead, I failed to teach you the most important friendship lesson of all." She said as she headed to the kitchens. The kitchen staff was always good to talk to, and she needed some comfort food.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Princess Cadence stood atop the crystal tower, looking out at Ponyville. It had been abandoned for a short five years, and already the surrounding land was silent and grey. The sight of it churned her stomach with sorrow and guilt. Shortly after Shining Armor had left the world, fate had decided that her dearest sister in law should be taken from her. And, heating the tears she held back, was a sharp anger. A rage against the fact that she was powerless to change anything, in spite of the fact that she was an alicorn princess.

A pegasus guard entered the room, saying, "A letter from Canterlot, Princess." He gave her the letter and quietly left the room.

The letter was from Celestia, it even had the royal crest sealing it. Cadence opened it:

To the Princess Mi-Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire,

I, Princess Celestia, must request that you meet with me regarding a highly sensitive topic that I will inform you of upon your arrival. I also ask that you come without any guards, as I wish this meeting to be a secret. To avoid the attention of the public, please consider wearing a disguise.

I await your safe arrival,

Princess Celestia of the City of Canterlot.

The letter was surprisingly formal. Because they were friends, Celestia's letters were usually informal, warm, and friendly. And they never used her full name, the name she had never liked being called, ever since she was a filly. Cadence came to a conclusion, this was a very serious meeting, or it was a trap. She stepped outside and said to her private guards, "You can retire early tonight, I'll be fine." They protested, but she eventually convinced the loyal guards to go to the barracks and rest.

After they were out of earshot, she began to plan her trip to Canterlot, and wondered where she could get a decent disguise.

* * *

The cool night air brushed against Celestia's coat, but she did not notice it. The cooks were very busy, so she had requested a meal and returned to her room to wait for it. Although she tried not to, she found herself staring once again to where a small town had been. Ponyville. And, like every time she looked at it, more memories forced themselves to the front of her mind.

* * *

"Your highness!" a guard cried, bursting through the door of the throne room interrupting a meeting Celestia was having with some of the leaders and representatives of the surrounding countries.

"What is it, that is urgent enough to interrupt my meeting?" She asked, slightly irritated at the rude intrusion until she realized that the guard was one of the ones in charge of the entrance to Canterlot, and he was covered in sweat and breathing hard. He had run here. All the way from the train station.

"All of Ponyville…. *gasp* Bar one Twilight Sparkle… *gasp* Is in Canterlot Requesting the immediate aid against the shroud of… *gasp* something covering Ponyville and the surrounding area. *gasp* According to the refugees, it isn't good. And it's spreading." The guard said between breaths.

Celestias eyes became hard as steel, her posture, while she hadn't moved, was now one of a hardened military leader. Turning to the current rulers of Yakyahkistan, Saddle Arabia, and the others whom had attended the meeting, she said: "All of you return to your homes, I apologize for the inconvenience, but Equestria may be in danger, and so are you as long as you remain."

The leader of Saddle Arabia stood. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that no apology is necessary, the safety of the people comes before all else; including boring meetings. No?" he stated, glancing at the other rulers and representatives for a sign of agreement, which was shown in the form of some nodding, stomping, and hearty hear-hears.

"Thank you" Celestia said, not using names because she hadn't mastered many of the pronunciations yet. "However, I must leave immediately. Farewell."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Standing atop a city wall, Celestia felt a tingle of fear upon looking at the purple sphere of malevolent smoke covering Ponyville. She had sent for Luna, and was waiting for her to arrive before investigating it.

"Let me guess, impending doom is once again sitting on Equestria, Twilight is fighting whatever it is, and we get to go make sure she's doing okay and aid her if needed. What. A. Thrill." Said a familiar voice behind her.

It was Luna, and she had broken her usually nocturnal sleeping habits to help. "Spare me your sarcasm, sister." Celestia said as she continued to stare at the sphere. "Besides, knowing Twilight, she'll have this mess wrapped up before we get there and you can go back to bed soon."

"So we can arrive too late and once again look like useless figureheads? Fine."

Just as the report had said, the sphere was indeed growing, and rapidly at that. Celestia and Luna approached it just as much as it approached them. Skirting the full area of the sphere, the sisters split up to cover more ground and search for gaps on its surface faster.

About an hour later, they reunited at the other side, neither having found anything. "Do we go in?" Luna asked.

''We do." Was Celestias only reply. Testing with her hoof, she found that the sphere was completely intangible. Both sisters stepped inside. Looking around, expecting destruction and maybe some fire, they were surprised that everything looked normal. Light was coming down as if the purple shroud wasn't even there and the purple smoke stayed on the borders of the sphere. "We need to find Twilight."

"Should we split up?" Luna asked, uneasy from the eerie stillness of the normally bustling town.

Celestia thought for a moment. "No, the risk is too great, and being alone and jumping at shadows will only waste time. Come, let us search the castle first."

The sisters reached the castle, although it was in the center of the shroud. With a background of swirling purple smoke, the crystal castle loomed threateningly over the sisters. Entering, Celestia realized that she had never been inside the castle without Twilight guiding her, and in a conversation with Starlight Glimmer (who swore that the rooms switched themselves), Celestia remembered learning that the castle was incredibly complex to those who didn't know it well.

They found the kitchen after opening the doors to several random offices and bedrooms. Luna walked to the counter in the center picked up a fruit from a bowl on it and bit into it. Or tried to, her teeth hit the apple she had chosen and stopped like it was made of steel. "This apple resists being bitten, dear sister." She said in shock.

Picking up an orange, Celestia tried to peel it, with no result. Intrigued, she focused a magic laser on the orange, gradually increasing the energy she put into it. When she was using the same amount of power she usually used to raise the sun, she stopped, and the orange was still there; not even warm. "We need to find Twilight, maybe she can explain this."

The next significant room they found was a room with the roots of a very large tree attached to the ceiling. Small gemstones hung from the individual roots. The centerpiece, however, was the table and chairs under it. There were six large chairs, each with a mark on the headpiece. Five of them were black, and one, with a pink star on the headpiece, was white.

Twilight Sparkle sat in the white chair. Her eyes were glowing, a sign that she was using a tremendous amount of power. Above her, the Element of Magic hovered. Additionally, the other elements were hovering above their respective chairs.

Celestia and Luna had only a moment to take all this in, then Twilight spoke. "Princesses! You should have told me you were visiting, I could have cleaned up for your arrival." She laughed like she had just made the funniest joke, and continued; "Welcome, esteemed guests, to my Utopia."

Luna, feeling that something was very wrong, asked; "Utopia? Whatever do you mean? Surely your philosophy books speak of the impossibility of such a thing."

Celestia, however, had a thought, one that she didn't want to have become a reality, "Twilight, is this magic shroud your doing?"

"Magic shroud? That's hardly what I would call the pinnacle of magical and scientific knowledge combined; creating a field where the force of nature; entropy, is converted into energy, which allows the field to grow larger." Twilight said, her eyes returning to normal.

"Pardon? Does thou speak English, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked, forgetting a few of her speech therapy sessions in her confusion.

Twilight glared at Luna; "In stupid speak, that means that the magic shroud stops time from passing and things from dying. And, by collecting energy from stopping those things, it gets bigger." She said, speaking slowly and making large, exaggerated gestures.

"YOU PUNY LITTLE-"

Luna was cut off by Celestia saying; "Twilight, there is no need to insult my sister because she lacks understanding. Now cease with this madness and return the Elements to the Tree of Harmony before something happens."

"Cease!? Why would I stop my beautiful Utopia from growing!? This is a gift! A gift to the ponies of Equestria from the Princess of Friendship. Pets can live as long as their owners; an eternity! Nopony needs to work, leaving all schedules open for friends! And best of all, friendships can last forever." Twilight said, laughing hysterically.

Luna spoke, her rage having retreated for now, "That would disrupt the balance of nature. You would condemn the world to an eternity of the same ideals, and the culinary arts would be a forgotten luxury."

Celestia picked up her sister's argument, "No new foals would be born, and the ones already born will never grow up to learn about the joys of life. There wouldn't be anypony to pick up the creative torch, leaving the world at the mercy of old, stagnant, and unchanging ideas. Please, Twilight. Just stop and we can go on as if this never happened."

Twilight brought her hoof up to her chin, as if thinking, then said, "No"

Celestia widened her stance. Knowing Twilight's legendary stubbornness, she was ready for a fight. "I will not ask again, Twilight. Stop. Now."

Luna started to move away from her sister. She recognized that tone of voice, it was a reminder of why Celestia was the head ruler of Equestria, despite there being more powerful alicorns. It was a tone of voice that told Luna that Celestia had decided to stop her opponent; no matter the cost. The last time she had heard her sister speak like this, Luna had been imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years.

Seeing Celestias threatening pose, Twilight rose from her seat. "No. And you can stop standing there like you're going to zap me, it's literally impossible here." She said, walking around the table, slightly closing the gap between them.

"Then you leave me no choice." Celestia said, taking aim with her horn, she hesitated only a moment before firing a condensed beam of magic. But she did not fire at Twilight. No, she shot at the pink star shaped gem still hovering over the white chair. In truth, she did not expect anything to happen. Her expectations were defied, however when the gem shattered into dust, uncountable particles scattering across the room. "Twilight Sparkle, I hereby strip you of your title as Princess. Until you can prove that you are worthy; you have no authority."

"NO! That was the only conduit that could endure a continuous flow of entropy!" Twilight cried out, not even hearing the demotion she had just received.

Celestia ignored her however. Instead turning to Luna, who, when the element broke, had cried out in pain and been sent flying by an invisible force. She hit a wall and crumpled to the floor in a heap.

"Luna! Are you all right?" Celestia asked, running to her sister.

Luna got up, rubbing the back of her head. "I am fine, sister, you should focus on Twilight. She is not well, and needs help." Luna replied.

Twilight Sparkle had continued to blabber during the short exchange; "-because there is no known material that can last an eternity, I had to-" Twilight stopped, as if suddenly having a brilliant idea. "Can't talk now, bye!" she teleported out of the room with the remaining elements.

Celestia frowned: "Let us search the rest of the castle for her. I feel that this is not over."

The two sisters continued their search of the Crystal Palace. Two Hours later, wandering the once friendly halls of the castle, Celestia said to herself; "She must be in the library, but we haven't found it yet." Turning to Luna, she asked; "Are you sure you're all right, sister? You hit that wall quite hard."

"I am fine, I only wish I knew why I was the only one to be affected." Was Lunas reply.

" _Is her coat a little darker than usual?"_ Celestia thought to herself. _"No, it can't be, it's just a trick of the light."_ Speaking aloud, she said "I do not know why you flew back as you did, but if you start to feel any different, let me know."

It took them three hours after that to find Twilight, and she was in the library, as expected. "Ah, hello again, dear mentor." Her eyes gleamed with a dark, insane malice; "have you come to apolo-" she stopped as she looked past Celestia and saw Luna. "Oh my. This could be entertaining. Celestia, it seems you will regret opposing me after all." Her horn lit up, and before anyone could blink, she cast a spell on Luna.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Luna Screamed. Whatever Twilight had done was obviously very painful. "What have you done!?" Celestia roared; furious at the unwarranted attack on her sister.

"I only finished what you started when you destroyed an Element of Harmony, Celestia. Allow me to present, in all her glory; Nightmare Moon!" Twilight Sparkle said, much like a pony on stage.

The screaming stopped. Luna, with a coat now so dark that it was like obsidian, took a breath, and opened her eyes. The turquoise colored eyes were now like a dragon's, with long pointed pupils, glistening with malevolence. Worst of all, they directed at Celestia a hatred that rivaled the heat of the sun. "Finally, I have returned! Celestia! You will now feel the true extent of my vengea- " She was interrupted by a flash of light from where Twilight was sitting.

Glancing over, the two enemies saw the lavender alicorn holding a bowl of popcorn. "Well? Get on with it! My popcorn is gonna get cold."

Nightmare Moon blinked in shock. "You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" turning back to Celestia, she said; "forgive me if I don't battle you first, but this one has caused me more pain than even you have. And now she treats me like a showpony? Acting only for the amusement of my audience? I think not."

Celestia stared in surprise. Did her greatest enemy; Nightmare Moon, just prioritize someone else's destruction over hers?

"Darn, and I thought that with my anti- entropy field down, this would be an interesting fight." Twilight said, stepping forward and flaring out her wings. "We have not been properly introduced, it seems. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, controller of the Elements of Harmony, and chosen by the Element of Magic. Just as Celestia controls the sun, I control Magic itself. Whatever your intentions are, you will not beat me." As she spoke, the magic in the room escalated; causing the back of Celestia's neck to tingle.

Nightmare Moon sneered. "Greetings Princess Sparkle, I am Nightmare Moon, true ruler of Equestria, sworn enemy of Celestia, and bane of the sun. You would do well to mind your boasting."

Celestia shivered involuntarily. An insecure thought bubbled to the front of her mind. These were the two most powerful alicorns in recorded history. And somehow, she was supposed to stop them? Here? Now?

* * *

Nightmare moon hit the floor of the library, dazed. It had been a ten-minute battle, and it had taken her opponent ten seconds to beat her. All her attacks missed Twilight, who was a blur as she used magic to greatly increase her speed. In the end, Twilight won by simply zapping her opponent's wings with a spell; watching as the Black alicorn fell.

"I would _love_ to continue this. But I have a proposition for you." Twilight said, eyes gleaming. "Personally, I find the night far more interesting than the day, astrology and all that. And while I could easily defeat you, again and again, for eternity, a great tactician knows when and where to make an ally."

Nightmare Moon glared at her, "Do not mock me. You have won, now end this humiliation."

"Mock you? I was being serious. Both of us want similar things, or at least, our desires do not clash with each other. And most importantly; we both have lost friends to the ravages of time." Twilight said as she helped Nightmare Moon stand up with her magic.

"Friends? I have never had friends, I am Nightmare Moon. Feared by all and loved by none."

Twilight smiled knowingly; "Do not lie to me. If I recall, there was once a blind pegasus filly, from which you were inseparable. What was her name? Snowflake?"

"Snowdrop. Her name was Snowdrop. And she was a friend of Luna, not me." Hiding her shock well at discovering Twilight knew that particular story.

"Oh really? Then why do you care about her name?" Twilight asked, knowing the answer already.

"Luna's most cherished memories are of her, nothing more."

Twilight looked the defeated mare in the eyes; "Nothing more than one of the few memories where you did not resent Celestia for outshining you, or care about the residents of Equestria for loving the day?"

"Fine, I love that little filly just as much as Luna did. But I refuse to serve under you, so save your breath." Nightmare Moon said, still in the same place she had landed earlier.

"No. Not under me. Beside me." Twilight said firmly.

"If you speak the truth, there is only one pony who can stop us" the black mare said, turning; "and she is right th- "

Celestia was gone, having fled while the other two were distracted.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Celestia had run out of the room as fast as she could. Then, after getting out of earshot, she teleported back to Canterlot. Arriving with a flash in the captain of the guard's office, the current captain in question was on his hooves and in a defensive stance immediately, relaxing only when he saw who it was.

"Your highness! Whatever is the mat- "

Celestia began speaking before the captain had finished; "I need you to use emergency plan B. As fast as physically possible."

"Where do you want us to put it?" he asked. As a captain, he was well versed in the different plans and strategies created for different potential disasters in Equestria, knowing immediately what "plan B" was and how to use it.

"Around Ponyville" she said.

The stoic warrior thought quickly; "I will have the teleportation specialists drop the whole set and my best team off as soon as we can." He said, dashing out of the room.

Being left alone, Celestia began to cry quietly. She had put on a brave face in Ponyville and for the captain, but the weight of losing her sister and her faithful student had become too much to bear. "I am sorry, sister. The duty of Equestria's protector must come above all."

Plan B was a gift from two of the brightest magical minds to ever reside in Equestria; Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer. A genius magical creation, the complexity of it was complimented by how simple it was to set up. Six pillars, arranged in a hexagon shape, would create a crystalline barrier of whatever size was needed as soon as it was activated.

The barrier prevented everything from passing through it, even light. And, should the barrier be broken from the inside, any holes in the barrier would not lead out of it, but to a dimension that had no magic, life, or matter, making it near impossible to escape.

"Your highness, all of the preparations are complete"

"Activate it. Quickly." Celestia said, her mouth dry.

Using light signals to inform the ponies next to a different pillar, the captain started the activation process. Within seconds, the closest pillar began to glow with gold geometric symbols. The other pillars likely did the same, but they were too far off to see the tiny symbols. Soon, six beacons of golden orange light slowly rose into the sky.

When they reached about two hundred feet in the air, the beams changed their direction, rising diagonally towards the center of the hexagon. When they reached their peak, six loud clicking noises echoed across the surrounding area, followed by an even louder *BOOM* as the device completed the barrier. Now, where Ponyville once stood, there was a giant black crystal with glowing, golden orange corners looming over Equestria.

"According to the eggheads doing the thinking part of this thing, even a barrier this big should still last for a thousand years before needing to be recharged. I hope that will be enough, Princess." The captain said.

"I truly hope so. You may return to your usual duties." Celestia said, head down as if carrying a great weight.

"Princess?"

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind my asking, just what happened in Ponyville for such extreme measures to be used? Also, I was told that Princess Luna was accompanying you. Was the pony who told me mistaken?" the captain asked, very concerned.

Celestia fought back tears at being reminded that she had lost her sister again, but hid it well, saying; "I will address those questions, and other things, tomorrow in a public address. However, your concern is appreciated."

Nodding, the captain of the guard returned to his office.

* * *

Nightmare Moon skidded to a halt at the end of the hallway. It was a dead end. Again.

She spun around, rushing back the way she came. "Curse you Celestia, you coward. Fleeing will only delay your fate."

When they had realized that the Princess of the sun had fled, Twilight had asked Nightmare Moon to go after her. The lavender alicorn, needing to attend to something else, had gone off somewhere. Leaving Nightmare Moon to navigate the castle on her own.

Taking a left, the black mare found herself looking at a six-way split in the hallway.

"What crazed architect created this madhouse?!" She roared. Taking a deep breath, she said, "easy Nightmare, just take this problem one path at a time. Although, by the time I get out of here, Celestia will have gathered an army to fight us."

Taking the path to her left and going clockwise, the third door she tried opened into a spacious entrance hall. Letting out a relieved sigh at being free from the cramped and confusing halls, she rushed for the door. And, stepping out, she saw something unexpected. There was no army waiting for her.

*CLICK*

Looking up, she saw something far worse. Six golden orange beams had met above the center of Ponyville.

*CLICK*

Only the princesses and the captain of the royal guard knew about the "emergency plan B" and from Luna's memories, she also knew what it was.

*CLICK*

It was activating, she had to escape.

*CLICK*

Flying as fast as she could, Nightmare Moon sped towards the border.

*CLICK*

She would not be imprisoned again.

*CLICK*

She was almost there…

*BOOM*

Nightmare Moon found herself in total, unrelenting darkness. Landing and lighting up her horn, she saw her reflection in the dark, flawless crystal that now surrounded Ponyville.

In a burst of frustrated rage, she raised her hoof to smash the surface, but paused when a voice said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Twilight stood behind her, and when Nightmare Moon lowered her hoof, she continued speaking, "If you knew what the barrier was, then you also know that smashing it would be a fruitless effort."

The black mare sneered, "what would you have me do, then? Sit in my bed and wait for Celestia to come in and tell me that timeout is over?"

"Of course not." Twilight said. She used a bit of magic, and suddenly the entire area was filled with light from the star atop the Crystal Castle. "We will be preparing."

* * *

"Your highness"

Celestia was snapped out of her nightmarish flashback by one of the castle waiting staff.

"I have the meal you requested."

"Thank you, Roseberry, that will be all."

Roseberry left a covered silver platter on a table, bowed, and backed formally out of the doorway, closing it as she left.

Celestia smiled, good food can cure the deepest sorrow, though for only a moment. She lifted the lid and prepared to dig in.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Cadence approached the two armored pegasi guarding the castle gate. She wore a dress and a wide, floppy hat to conceal her identity. When she reached the guards, she quietly said, "Princess Celestia urgently requested that I meet with her, could I have one of you escort me to her?"

One of the guards frowned and said, "I have not been told of any such meeting. Do you have any proof of this request? That you can show us?"

She pulled out the letter. "I cannot let you read the letter, but is the Royal Seal on it enough?

The guard who had spoken replied, "It should be. I'll take you to the Princess, but don't try anything. Come with me."

* * *

Celestia had just finished her meal when a pegasus guard entered, asking if there was anyone she was expecting, and that there was a mare who had said she had been requested.

"Send her in, I'm not busy right now anyway." Celestia said.

The guard stepped out and re-entered with a pony who was wearing a long, frilly dress, and a large hat.

The princess of the sun looked down at the mare, and said, "I was not expecting anypony till tomorrow, what do you need that could possibly excuse lying?"

The mare, still looking down, handed Celestia a letter with the royal crest on it. Without reading it, Celestia knew who it was. Turning to the guard, she said, "It is fine, you may return to your post."

When the guard had left, Cadence removed her hat.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Celestia said, "Cadence, I was not expecting you till tomorrow, though the company is much appreciated right now."

The pink alicorn looked up and said, "the letter you sent was incredibly formal, and it worried me, so I came as fast as I could."

"that was my intention, but I did not think you would arrive the same day I sent it. Did you at least leave somepony in charge?" Celestia said.

"I left Flurry Heart in charge. But, what could possibly need this much speed and secrecy?

Celestia's expression became serious. "We must prepare for Twilight's return."

* * *

Cadence left Canterlot after discussing many things with Celestia. They had agreed to meet every other month in secret to plan for the coming storm. They had one thousand years to ready themselves, but still worried that it might not be enough.

* * *

Many years later, Princess Celestia watched Cadence leave from her tower, as she had countless times before. After their first meeting, they had regularly kept in touch. And though they had planned and strategized for nearly a thousand years, she was still worried that they would still taste bitter defeat. She knew that whoever won the battle that she had fled from would have had the same amount of time that she had to plan.

A dark though flitted across her mind. What if they had joined together to oppose her? She shook it off, Twilight would never do such a thing. But, Celestia had once thought that Twilight wouldn't hurt a friend, only to be proven wrong as she watched as her student turned Luna into the thing of her nightmares.

"I will bring it up with Cadence next time." She said to herself.

* * *

On the other side of Equestria, a shadowy figure flitted across the dark and soggy dirt road. It had been a long journey, but the cloaked pony was determined. Reaching a stone fort, she knocked on a door set into the side.

A peephole slid open; "Yes?" Asked a raspy voice. Obviously annoyed at the disturbance this late.

"I have come seeking an old friend." A melodious voice, similar to a glass harp said.

"And that friend is...?" the raspy voice asked, already impatient.

"I know him as Spike, but he may go by a different name."

The voice on the other side of the door gasped; " _You_ seek Master Spike!?" Regaining his composure, (the pony assumed it was a him) the raspy voice said; "Fine, come with me."

The pony was led through a series of hallways. The voice, who did not introduce himself, wore a long brown cloak, though it did little to hide the scaly tail he was dragging behind him. They reached a door, at the end of a hallway. The same as the other doors they had passed except for a Plaque saying; "Master Spike" in dull wooden letters.

"Go inside, friend of the abbot, though if you are not who you say you are, he may be angry."

The pony removed her hood, revealing a unicorn horn and round, purple rimmed glasses that accented her pitch-black coat and purple mane, which was held back by a teal headband. "I assure you, that won't be a problem."

Knocking on the door, she heard a muffled "Come in." entering, she was greeted by the warmth of a fireplace.

"Garble! You're early, but that's fine, tell me, do you remember what we talked about last week?" a large, purple scaled dragon said, sitting in a chair facing the fireplace.

The pony began to laugh, she had not seen him for a very long time, and she was overjoyed at seeing her friend and adopted brother.

The dragon jumped, startled by the voice that was certainly not a dragon. Spinning around, Spike said; "Who are you, and what do you want!?"

"I'm just an old friend who wants to ask for help." The pony said, turning serious.

Spike growled deep in his throat; "I have not seen a pony in a thousand years, and I do not recognize you. How could you possibly be an old friend?"

The pony just smiled and said; "My name is Nyx Sparkle, the only pony who Twilight Sparkle has ever called a daughter. And you have forgotten me, just like the rest of Equestria."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Spike took a sip from a mug of warm soup, and said; "So you're telling me that Twilight sparkle, because of ponies trying to attack you, cast a spell to make all of Equestria forget about you. And sent you to live with a zebra clan to the west? I find that hard to believe, she would never willingly give up a friend. And you have no evidence other than the wings you claim are hiding under that vest." Taking another sip, he asked, "Why were the ponies attacking you?"

Nyx looked through her glasses at spike and said; "It is a long story, and I have no desire to tell it all at once. But, if you seek proof, here you are." At that, she stood. And using a bit of magic, she transformed into a cloud of starry purple smoke. The smoke then began to take shape, becoming a mare as tall and slender as Celestia, the mare stretched out her wings, then let them fold to her side. Still looking through her glasses, she asked; "Proof enough, Spike?"

"What the- Why do you look like Nightmare moon!?" Spike said, standing and backing away quickly.

"For Celestia's sake, this isn't going at all to plan" Nyx said, then, removing her glasses with her magic, she looked the panicked dragon in the eye and cast a spell.

Spike temporarily frozen at the sight of Nyx's eyes; which were now the same as his, only turquoise, and did not have time to dodge the spell. A flood of memories and feelings entered his mind, and he grinned as he remembered his adopted sister. The draconic grin faded, however, when a question entered his mind.

"Why didn't you come back sooner?"

Nyx's eyes widened in disbelief. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to track you down!? I have wandered alone for five hundred years, just trying to find you!"

Spike asked another question, "Alone? Surely you've heard that Twilight became an alicorn."

The black alicorn smiled sadly, "I'm afraid that you are the one here who is under-informed, Spike. Twilight is out of my reach. And she is the reason I must ask for help." She took a breath, and said, "We must save the Princess of Friendship. From herself."

* * *

Spike hid just outside Canterlot, waiting for the signal. It was difficult to conceal his large frame. He was something of a natural phenomenon among dragon kind, having no wings and growing without any greed, he was around eight feet tall, and fourteen hundred pounds of nothing but muscle; a formidable force to be reckoned with, even though he was not the brave knight he imagined himself becoming as a child.

Instead of the jousting pole he used to pretend to swing around when no one was looking, he preferred to use his bare claws, Nyx had given him a reflective shield for magic attacks though, just in case. He ran the plan through his head one more time; " _When the signal goes off, I distract the guards with enough violence for them to require a lot of reinforcements."_

A pink star flickered to life in the night sky overhead; the signal, subtle enough that no one would notice, and if a random pony did, they'd think little of it.

Spike rose from his position and shot a blast of fire at the wall surrounding the city, the guards on top of the wall giving him their full attention, he ran at the wall and jumped, landing in the center of the walkway that the guards patrolled.

"I am _so_ sorry!" Spike said as he dropped the closest guard with what he considered a light whack. Two other ponies, seeing his violent intent; charged at him with spears. He sidestepped with a speed that defied his bulk, allowing the two attackers to run past. Then, picking up the fallen pony's spear, Spike broke the head off and hit one of the guards with the stick, he would have got the other one too, but the headless spear exploded into splinters on impact.

The remaining guard shrieked like a filly, "I need backup!" just before getting a heavy blow to the skull.

Spike heard a flapping noise behind him. Turning, he saw three full squads of pegasi advancing. "Surrender now!" The leading pegasus guard shouted.

Looking at the fallen wall sentry, Spike picked him up and threw him at the flying guards, purposefully aiming high. The unconscious pony flew over the heads of the pegasi, forcing a group of them to break off to try and catch the sailing sentry.

The rest of the troops swarmed him from all sides, he let them get close, then spun in a circle, using his arms and tail to bat them away. The sheer force of this attack broke bones and knocked several guards unconscious, leaving the less harmed ones to reconsider their attack plan.

"Take him out! Quick! K Formation!" One guard shouted.

A memory flickered to life in Spikes head. K Form… He remembered that. If it was the same as a thousand years ago, then the pegasi were about to fly in a complex pattern, attempting to distract him while another pony silently glided from behind and hit a spot on the back of his head, which was a weakness on most living things, including dragons.

The pegasi began flying in every direction, up, down, forward, backward, left, right. Spike stared at them, pretending to be trying to analyze their attack plan. Then, after waiting a few moments, he spun around, catching the lone guard by surprise, and hit him. With a thump, the pony went limp and fell to the stone floor. Turning back, he let loose a might roar, then, with a trick he used to only use on Nightmare night, he blinked his inner eyelids to intimidate his foes.

Taking the challenge, the remaining guards rushed him. All but one, who flew off in a different direction, likely to get some magic support.

As the closest guard reached him, he grabbed the pegasus's foreleg, then swung him around like a rag doll, using the soon unconscious pony as a weapon.

Defeating the last flying guard, Spike felt the scales on his neck prickle.

"I would ask you to surrender, but you've already made your answer abundantly clear."

Spike looked at the owner of the voice. A unicorn with armor slightly more ornate than the rest of the guard; a captain.

Without wasting anymore time, the captain drew a long sword with his magic, and lunged at the dragon.

* * *

Nyx trotted down the halls of Canterlot in her true form, not another pony in sight. She had decided that she would reveal herself in her true form to Celestia for two reasons; one, the strategy that she was using was already using more deception than she liked, and two, Nyx felt that the Princess of the Sun would respect an adult a lot more than a the filly she was more comfortable as.

She smiled, remembering the first time she had met the regal Princess.

* * *

After the play, the group consisting of Nyx, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Celestia, Luna, and the other three remaining Cutie Mark Crusaders had all gone to a restaurant that the four fillies had picked.

It was Apple Bloom, interestingly enough, who started a conversation with the two princesses, quickly bringing her (completely normal) obsession with Cutie Marks in as a topic, she asked them, "Princesses, how did yall get yer Cutie Marks? If ya don't mind mah askin, that is."

Celestia smiled, she loved talking to fillies. Because they were too young to fully understand her royal position, they often treated her like they would anypony else, letting her take a break from the usual topics from the Canterlot elite; how is Canterlot, why did the sun come up three seconds early, what do you think the stock market will do in the next couple of months, etc. (She always told them the stock market would rise, because she didn't really know much about it.)

Breaking out of her thoughts, she said, "Well, it started shortly after Equestria was founded, actually. The ponies of the old country, Pongea, wanted to immigrate to Equestria because the cold from the windigos had magically created a lot of snow, which in turn, was flooding the entire region. There was one problem though, the pony who raised the sun and moon wouldn't leave, and threatened that he would leave the sun up if anypony left, frying that side of the world and freezing the other.

But, half of Pongea decided to call his bluff, and left anyway. When he found out, he pulled through on his threat, and for two weeks, the temperatures rose higher and higher. After two weeks, ponies were hiding in their homes, unable to go out and get food. Me and my sister were a lot like you back then, trying to find our Cutie Marks and doing everything that came to mind to get them."

The heat didn't deter us, and we did things indoors. Eventually our food and water supply ran out, and our dear, sweet mother decided to brave the heat to feed us. We waited a long time, and then our father left to look for her. N-neither of them came back, and we w-were alone for a while." Celestia tried to continue, but Luna saw that she was breaking down and picked up.

"We didn't know what to do, and had stopped trying to get our Cutie Marks after father left. Then Celestia had a ridiculous idea. We could try to lower the sun ourselves. I was mad at her for still thinking about Cutie Marks, but it was something to distract me, so I went with her to her room, where she opened the window letting in a heat that stung like boiling water.

"we both tried to lower the sun at the same time, converting our desires into a spell. For several minutes, we struggled with the sun, and in our stubborn refusal to give up, we blacked out. We woke up in darkness, and Celestia used her magic to light a candle. The window was still open, but, to our shock, it was night time.

"Then, looking at each other, I said, "you're an alicorn!" at the same time Celestia said, "you got your Cutie mark!" We both turned to look at what the other had seen and there, behind us, were our Cutie Marks and wings sitting there like they had been there the whole time. Everything we had ever dreamed of in our wildest dreams. Alicorns only existed in legends from thousands of years ago, even then."

The meal had arrived while the story was told, and Sweetie Belle stopped eating her sandwich to ask, "what happened to your parents?"

Celestia hesitated before started to answer, "they came home, and-" but was cut off by Luna.

"Sister, protecting them from reality will only make it hurt more when it decides to hit them." Then she said to the four Crusaders, "We went looking for them, and when we found them, they had died, both of sunstroke, even though it appeared that father had tried to shelter mother when he found her."

The group went silent for a bit, then Scootaloo broke the silence by asking in a shaky voice, "how old were you?" it was a sensitive topic for the filly, having lost her parents too. Only Rainbow Dash knew about this, though, because Scootaloo had kept it a secret so she could stay in the town that her parents lived. Fluttershy had almost found out by stumbling upon the filly while she was in her shack on the edge of the woods, but Scootaloo had convinced the yellow pegasus that it was her secret clubhouse.

Celestia answered the question, saying; "older than you, I'm sure. We were out of school and looking for work just before the sun stayed in the sky for two weeks."

Sweetie belle and Scootaloo's expressions became horrified at the thought of waiting so long. And Nyx and Apple Bloom looked relieved that somepony, even the age old Princesses, had waited longer than them.

Twilight, noticing that Nyx hadn't really joined the conversation, said, "Nyx, why don't you tell the princesses about your favorite subject in school?"

The black filly perked up by just thinking about it, and said, "I really like learning about history, finding out how the original ponies in Ponyville got by is really cool, and ancient spells tell you a lot about the time period that they were made."

Celestia was surprised at this, asking, "I thought Ponyville Elementary was a mixed school, why do they teach ancient spells if two thirds of the ponies aren't unicorns?"

It was Twilight who answered, saying, "Actually, they don't. Nyx here loves to learn, and living in the library has only encouraged it."

Apple Bloom burst out, "I've never met somepony who loves learning like she does!"

"She asks _so_ many questions! We almost miss recess!" Scootaloo continued.

Sweetie Belle picked up, saying, "but the questions she asks bring up really cool topics, and it makes class a lot more interesting."

Nyx almost shouted as she had a thought, "Maybe I can get my Cutie Mark in studying!" her eyes gleamed at the thought.

The other three fillies visibly shuddered, and Scootaloo said, "Maybe. You should look into it in your free time. While we do that ski jump you didn't want to do."

Celestia smiled, the four fillies were so very different, but it was apparent that they were very close friends. It reminded her of herself and Luna before Nightmare Moon was banished.

The group continued to talk about a wide variety of subjects till late in the night.

* * *

Nyx's flashback ended as she arrived at the door to the princess's quarters. She lit up her horn. It was time to get a little messy.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Celestia reached the entrance to her room. The usual guards were not there, and the door was slightly ajar. She put up an invisible shield, a spell she only used when she felt that she was in danger, but did not want to show it. Entering, she saw that her room had been ransacked. The cake that a waiter had left out earlier was tipped on the floor, and the scrolls from Twilight that she had kept all of these years were everywhere. A rustling noise came from her dress closet. Stepping forward, the cautious princess approached the door.

*PING*

A spell deflected off the shield. Celestia spun around to face her attacker.

"Oh, come on! Why can't I plan anything without _something_ going wrong!?" A black alicorn complained loudly.

"Nightmare Moon! How did you escape!?" Celestia yelled.

Nyx blinked in confusion, then put two and two together; "Sorry Princess, but I am not the mare that you dread seeing again."

Celestia snorted; "And next you'll be telling me that the moon is made of cheese. Do not insult my intelligence. Fight me!"

Nyx groaned, she could see no way to reason with the Princess of the sun. So, she cast a spell, not at Celestia, but at the ground beneath her. Five black, claw-like pillars shot out of the ground. using the invisible shield as a cage of sorts, Nyx trapped Celestia with the pillars. "I don't want to fight you. I want to remove the spell Twilight cast on you." Nyx said. "Now, I want you to lower your shield so I can do just that."

"I knew you were delusional, but not to this extreme. If I lower this shield, you will attack me. It's not that I don't trust you, in fact, I trust you completely… to try and kill me." Celestia said, the last of her statement bearing a hateful tone.

Nyx smiled sadly, "Have it your way, Princess." At that, she pushed all five of the pillars into the shield, shattering it in seconds.

* * *

Spike stepped over the limp form of the captain. The fight took a little longer, but the victorious purple dragon suspected he was stalling.

Suspicions confirmed, Spike was suddenly lifted into the air. "You are under arrest for assaulting members of the Canterlot guard."

The dragon offered no resistance, even though he could have easlily fried the unicorns holding him. The entire guard had arrived, if that wasn't enough for Nyx to reach Celestia, then nothing would be.

* * *

The captain approached the door to the Princess's chambers and knocked.

"Come in."

He entered as Celestia exited her dress closet. "Your highness, a purple dragon has just been captured after taking down most of the guards in Canterlot. He wishes to speak with you. What should we do?"

Frowning, Celestia said; "Purple, you say? Does this dragon have wings?"

"No, he doesn't." The captain of the guard smiled; "Am I to assume that you know this dragon, princess?"

Celestia laughed softly, for the first time in a thousand years. "Yes, I know him, now send him in. I would like to find out what reason he had for attacking your guards."

The captain left to fetch the escort of guards managing the dragon.

Stepping back into the spacious closet, Celestia checked on the alicorn inside. She had been knocked out when her shield had been broken. Now awake, the white alicorn looked at her double with an eyebrow arched.

"You are far too good at pretending to be me, Nyx. I'm glad you haven't exploited that talent." The real Celestia said. "Now, why did you tie me up?"

After casting the memory spell, Nyx had pulled Celestia into the closet and tied her down. "I didn't know if the spell would take, since I've only ever used it on things that are awake." Nyx answered, smiling sheepishly then loosening the magical rope she had used.

*knock-knock*

Nyx transformed into a cloud of smoke and darted toward the ceiling.

"Come in!" Celestia called.

The captain entered, followed by Spike, who had to duck down to enter the pony-sized doorway.

"Spike, it has been far too long." Celestia glanced at the Captain of the guard; "You may leave."

"But, your highn- "The captain of the guard began.

"Leave. Now." Celestia said, giving a direct order.

"Of course." The captain bowed and walked out.

As the door clicked shut, the muscular dragon flexed his wrists, freeing them. "Have you had a visitor before me, Princess?" Spike said, asking indirectly about Nyx.

"Yes, she has." A purple cloud of smoke said, floating down from the ceiling stopping above one of spikes broad shoulders, transforming into a filly wearing a headband, glasses, and a vest.

Nyx's newfound chair grumbled, "I told you not to sit on my shoulder."

The filly grinned devilishly, "and I didn't listen."

Celestia looked at the two bickering friends. They really were brother and sister. "As heartwarming as this is, I would like to know where you have been all this time, and why you are here now."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"I will start at the beginning." Nyx said. "Over a thousand years ago, just five years after the Children of Nightmare accidentally created me, all of Equestria was in chaos. A civil war between those loyal to you and the ponies who could only listen to their fears was just a few steps away, and random terrorist attacks on Ponyville were becoming more and more common."

Half of Equestria said that you were not fit to rule, having let me; who they saw as Nightmare Moon, reside in Ponyville without a punishment fitting my crimes. The other half of Equestria argued that if you felt that I had been punished fairly, then none should disagree, since it was your decision to make."

In a desperate attempt to prevent a war, I suggested that I leave. Twilight wouldn't hear of it though, saying that the war would start regardless of my being present." Nyx licked her lips, which were dried out from talking so much, and continued her story; "There was no convincing her, she said it would be like abandoning me again. So, I started to secretly plan with the other five who held the Elements, along with Zecora."

It was Zecora, in fact, who presented the largest part of our solution; that I go to learn the arts of magic with the clan of zebras that she had left. The other part of the plan was the most difficult, and the way that a war was avoided. Myself and the six others asked Twilight to come to Zecoras hut, and there we revealed our plan to send me to the clan in the west."

Looking back, I have no idea how we got so far without her, she pointed out every hole and flaw we had overlooked, saying that as long as the ponies of Equestria remembered me, war was unavoidable. The entire hut went silent when she said those words, and when she caught on, Twilight went very pale and started shouting that she wouldn't do it. In the end though, I managed to convince her to help us, I told her that it was my decision, and I would do anything to let Equestria have peace."

The spell they cast was more powerful than anything I have ever seen. We combined Zebra magic with the Elements of Harmony and made every pony in Equestria forget who I am, and in the same instant, I was teleported directly to the Zebra clan."

Zecora had told me exactly what to say, and I was brought to the clan chief. Zecora also gave me, from what I understand, a letter of recommendation, calling in and old favor. I gave the letter to the chief, who, upon receiving it, tasted the stamp to make sure it was real. Which, if I understand correctly, was a form of identification, each zebra having a random mix of herbs to use as an ID."

From there, I lived with them for around five hundred years, at that time they told me that I could not learn anything else from them, and asked me to leave. I was fine with that, I had seen many generations of zebras come and go, and I had no friends there. The Zebras could hardly befriend a pony who had known their great grandparents. Besides, I tried to have friends the first hundred years or so, but I couldn't bear to lose any more."

So, I left, and traveled Equestria in disguise. I considered returning to Ponyville, but it proved to be impossible since it had been cut off from the rest of the world. I did some enquiring about that, and found that two alicorns were imprisoned within it. One of them was Nightmare Moon. The other alicorn, I had to dig around some old history books, because everypony now calls her the Fallen Princess of Friendship. I was very shocked to find that the fallen princess was none other than my dear mother, Twilight Sparkle. I also found that the entirety of Equestria is terrified of what will happen when they return."

Spike, after confirming that Nyx was finished, said; "When you filled me in on this, you didn't mention anything about Nightmare moon. And what happened to the castle that the Children of Nightmare built? It would have caused a lot of confusion if every pony forgot about you, only to wake up and see a gigantic castle on the border of Ponyville that was dedicated to the pony they were supposed to forget."

Nyx laughed at herself for forgetting that part; "We had the Diamond Dogs destroy it, telling them that they could have all of the gems inside the castle if they did, then filled in the hole. And I didn't tell you about Nightmare Moon because you were already flooding me with questions."

Celestia remained silent, staring at the filly on Spike's shoulder while she absorbed the new information. Finally speaking, she said; "If you have been wandering Equestria for five hundred years, why are you only speaking to me now?"

"I wanted to complete the original goal I had when I returned, which was to find Spike, the only family I thought I had left. He was in a dragon sanctuary that he had built, and the only reason I found him was that I turned into a dragon and talked to some ponies, who were quick to tell me of a place where dragons could go to practice living without greed." Nyx said

Spike blushed a little, and said, "The day Rarity died, I decided that the gift she gave me; generosity, must not be wasted. So, to honor it, I started a dragon sanctuary to teach other dragons about it. Besides, I couldn't bear to be around my friends, who only gave me pity over the fact that my crush was the first of our friends to go."

"And the reason for us coming to see you, Princess, is to offer our aid when Twilight returns. So, we can get her back to being herself." Nyx said in a determined voice.

"Then you are just in time, my dear. The barrier will lose power on the next summer sun celebration." Celestia said, smiling as she started for the door. "Come with me"

* * *

Twilight sat in the library, feeding power into the spell that was repairing the Element of Magic. It had been a very long time since they had been trapped in Ponyville. But the spell required a lot of time and effort to repair an artifact such as this.

Her stomach growled, and she made an apple appear out of thin air. Alicorn magic. The power to create and destroy. A power that many sought out, not understanding the price that they would pay.

Feeling tired, she left the library to go to bed. She squirmed under the covers and used her magic to shut off the light. But, there was still light coming through the window. _"What? That can't be right."_ Twilight thought.

Getting up and looking out of the window, Twilight saw where the light was coming from. The sun was faintly gleaming through the weakened crystal. She went to find Nightmare Moon. The barrier would soon come down.

* * *

Celestia and her companions entered the throne room. Heading directly to the throne in the back, she said, "through the thousand years I was given to prepare, I did not sit idly by."

Pulling up some of the red carpet in front of her throne, a hidden trapdoor was revealed. "I started to plan and predict every possible thing that Twilight Sparkle could throw at me, creating strategies and defenses to prevent anypony from getting hurt. I had the greatest minds throughout Equestria help me, generation to generation."

She motioned for the other two to climb down. "The two ponies helping me right now are siblings, actually."

Underneath the trapdoor was a room that had a desk in the center. There were two doors on either side of the desk each with a mark on its face. Celestia motioned to the doors, "this entire space can change its shape as I need it to. These doors are my current assistant's private rooms. I would like you to aid them however necessary." Her horn began to glow, and two new doors appeared. "these will be your rooms, they will form whatever you need, just use your magic to call it forth. It is quite simple to- "

She looked at Spike, "I'll probably need to help you set up."

Spike sat frozen, staring at the mark on his door. Nyx's door had her shield Cutie Mark, but not having a mark on his side, he was surprised to find a mark still on the door. Three green gemstones, arranged exactly like the Cutie mark of a white mare that was long deceased. This sent daggers of emotional pain through him. "why did you put that on my door, Princess? It can only bring me pain."

Celestia looked at the mark, then said, "I did not put it there. If you were a pony, that is what your Cutie Mark would be. It is as simple as that."

Spike followed the princess into the room. It was completely empty, with a featureless grey color on every surface. " _Great"_ he thought, _"now my room will be the interior design choice of the Princess of Sunshine."_

The "Princess of Sunshine" spoke, breaking his thought process, "You know, I might be able to make it so the room still has your style. I could tap into your thoughts, then see what you imagine. May I?"

Spike's jaw dropped. It was like the princess had already read his thoughts. Recovering, he said, "Of course. You, of all ponies, have my complete trust."

Celestia smiled, then said, "Just think of the room that will suit your needs best."

A thought popped into the purple dragon's mind, he knew exactly what to think about. "Okay, I'm ready." he said.

There was a flash of light, and when it receded, Spike was standing in a perfect replica of the office he had at the dragon sanctuary. He sat down in his chair. It was just as comfy as the real one. Looking at Celestia to thank her, he paused. There, in front of the doorway, the Princess was sobbing like a filly. Going to her side he asked, "What happened? Are you hurt?"

After several minutes of continuous crying, she stopped, dried her eyes, and spoke, "When I tapped into your mind, I brushed up against your emotions. Spike, I have lived for many thousands of years, but have never experienced sorrow of that magnitude, even when I found my mother and father dead all those years ago. How do you bear it?"

"I surround myself with friends. In my sanctuary, we were one big family, and we helped each other carry the weight of our past. I never truly got over losing Rarity, but I did become strong enough to bear the pain." Spike said, now knowing why she had cried for so long and so hard.

Celestia nodded at his answer and turned to leave. Before she exited, she said, "thank you, you have taught me a lesson in friendship that I may pass to my faithful student."

* * *

Spike awoke in his office. Yawning, he said to himself, "That was a really weird dream."

He stepped outside to go get some breakfast, and stopped. "Or not." He said, seeing the room under the throne room.

On the desk were two notes. One of them was addressed to him and Nyx:

Nyx and Spike,

I have returned to my regular activities, and will return in a week to check on you. I understand that you have many questions, but I must ask you to direct them towards my two assistants; Solar Ray and Night Study. As I said last night, you are to help them in any way you can.

The note was signed with Celestias Cutie Mark. Spike picked up the other note, it wasn't for him, but he still read it.

Solar Ray and Night Study,

You may have noticed two new rooms have been added to the Study. The new residents of these rooms have been asked to aid you. Answer any questions they have, please.

This note was signed like the last one.

Spike glanced at the other doors. He decided to go into Nyx's room to see if she was still asleep. He opened the door and found himself in… The golden Oaks Library. Spike looked around in awe. Nyx had remembered every last detail.

"Do you like it?" a voice called down to him, followed by a yawn.

He looked up to see Nyx, still in filly form, grinning down at him. "How did you remember all of the details? I haven't seen this place in so long, I had forgotten what it looked like."

Nyx walked down the stairs and said, "This was my first home, the memory is solidly imprinted in my brain. Forgetting it would be like forgetting who I am."

"Well, Celestia left some instructions for us. May I stay and admire your work while you read them?" Spike said, walking around the circular room.

"Of course you can." She said as she walked out.

Spike looked around, the library looked so small now. But then, he had grown quite a bit after a thousand years. Spikes thoughts were interrupted by some shouting outside.

"I do not need any help, especially from some random filly from Celestias academy!"

The purple dragon poked his head through the doorway to see what was going on. A stallion with an orange coat and a red mane with purple streaks was shouting some nonsense about Celestia disrespecting his work. He had a cluster of stars surrounded by a purple halo of light on his flank. And he was glaring at Nyx.

"Let me guess. The other one is some tiny filly from her school too, right? You two should come back when you actually know enough to aid me in my- "

Spike, seeing Nyx glaring right back at the stallion, decided to intervene, saying, "Solar Ray, I presume? I see you have already met Nyx. However, calling someone you haven't met yet tiny is a bit presumptuous, don't you think?"

Solar Ray stiffened up at hearing the deep, ground shaking voice from behind him. Slowly he turned around, hoping against all odds that it was just a filly with a _really_ deep voice. It wasn't. And he trembled when the eight-foot dragon continued speaking.

"Now, picking on a tiny filly half your size is hardly the best way to introduce yourself. And also, if you think that Nyx here is an easy target, you should think again, because she mastered Transfiguration magic before she left elementary school. Are you looking forward to being turned into a tree? Or how about a cactus? It would certainly fit your personality."

Solar Ray's face became a crimson color, and he stormed through the door with his cutie mark on it.

Nyx looked up at Spike, "I could have handled him myself."

The dragon laughed, "And let you turn the poor unicorn into a steaming puddle? He wasn't _that_ rude."

They started to laugh, but were interrupted by a light, happy sounding voice.

"I am very glad that you have not been too insulted by my brother's words. He is prideful, and takes his work very seriously. My name is Night Study, one of the members of Celestia's Research of Equestrian Defense team, C.R.E.D. for short." The owner of the voice, a petite mare with a pure white coat and a mess of unkempt black hair had entered through the remaining doorway, and held her hoof out in greeting.

Spike shook the pony's hoof, bending down to do so. Then introduced himself, "Nice to meet you Night Study, I'm Spike and this is Nyx. I have a _lot_ of questions. But, I can ask those questions while I work. What help do you need?"

Night Study, after recovering from the tremendously strong hoofshake, said, "Neither of Celestia's letters mentioned how unique you two were. And I hardly expected a dragon and a filly to be the new members when I read about you earlier this morning. I will assume that she did not fill you in on much, and wants me to. So, I'll show you around. And you can help me with whatever you feel is within your abilities, Spike."

She motioned for them to follow her into her room, but when Spike entered it, he decided it was more of a lab than a bedroom. There were instruments of every possible kind, and the walls were lined with books of various sizes stacked on top of each other.

Many of the instruments Spike recognized from helping Twilight with her various studies. Things for judging wind speed, magical pressure, and other things as well. The most eye-catching feature, however, was a table with multi colored lasers focusing on a chunk of… something.

Night Study began speaking, "Now, most of these will be of little interest to great warriors and powerful ponies such as yourselves, but that one in the back, which I have noticed you both have seen, is helping me study materials that can store magical energy, to be released for later use. My theory is that the magic in the materials can enhance and refine the attributes of those in contact with it, allowing for stronger spells and faster movement."'

Nyx raised an eyebrow at the jabbering mare, "what gives you the idea that Spike and myself are great or powerful? I am not exactly the most intimidating pony." She said, not intending to reveal her alicorn status or ability to transform to either of the assistants. Both had seen her as a filly wearing glasses and a purple vest.

Night Study stopped talking, momentarily speechless, then answered, "Celestia really did leave you in the dark. Allow me to explain. C.R.E.D. is a program that studies the protection of Equestria's populace, including the combat of any perceived threat. You, Spike, will probably be helping us study physical combat, and Nyx, I can only imagine that you have incredibly powerful magic at your disposal, and were brought here to help study offensive magic and how to protect ourselves from it."

The black filly sighed and said, "I suppose that it cannot be helped, then."

At that, Nyx turned into a cloud of purple smoke, which morphed into a beautiful black unicorn mare, still in the same attire as before.

Night Study arched an eyebrow, "Why do you walk around as a filly? And saying you mastered transfiguration magic would be an understatement."

The beautiful black mare replied, "because ponies are less threatened by a filly, and I like being a filly, it's more comfortable."

*thud thud thud*

Night Study called to the door, "Come in!"

Solar Ray entered, and after gawking for a full minute at the gorgeous black "unicorn," he said to Spike, "I apologize for my rash behavior from earlier, master dragon. It is just that tensions are a bit high, being as we only have a year to prepare, and seeing the filly made me believe that Celestia wasn't taking this seriously. However, that obviously isn't the case."

Spike, seeing that Solar Ray had swallowed his pride, said, "Apology accepted. But, you should put more trust in your leader. I have known Celestia since I was hatched, and she has never given me reason to doubt her."

Solar Ray then turned to Nyx, "Young lady, it is quite apparent that I should have learned more about you before getting as worked up as I did. Can you forgive me? And also, are you really capable of turning me into a cactus? Transfiguring a living creature is no easy feat."

"I forgive you, if only because I believe every pony deserves a second chance. And yes, I once turned a pony into a tree while I was still without a Cutie Mark."

Night Study spoke up, "Now that we have that out of the way, Spike, will you accompany my brother? And Nyx, could you come over here and help me?"

* * *

After Solar Ray and Spike had left, Night Study had pulled out some books from their precarious stacks, and while reading them, said, "there are three things that we do here on a regular basis. We study, design various forms of equipment, and spar. Usually Celestia would visit to review our progress every other month, but with our deadline coming up, she has been coming down to train with us as often as she can."

Nyx said, "Spar? I wouldn't want to hurt anypony."

The white unicorn mare laughed and said, "I'm sure that won't be a problem, and besides, if you prove to be too tough for us, then you can pit yourself against the Princess. I doubt you'll be able to overpower her."

Under her breath, Nyx said, "you'd be surprised."

* * *

Princess Cadence wandered the streets of Canterlot, it was an hour until she was supposed to talk with Celestia. So, she had decided to ask around about the public opinion on various subjects, ponies were much more willing to speak freely when they didn't know she was a princess, so she did this a lot in the Crystal Empire. She asked many random questions to random ponies, and had found that they were very concerned with the level of secrecy Celestia was exhibiting.

She knew why the Princess of the Sun was being so secretive, Celestia was worried that one of the many enemies of Equestria would try to get in the way, thinking that they could defeat or control Twilight. The date of the barrier's release was a closely guarded secret. Both princesses had agreed that it was Twilight who had won the fight, since she had far surpassed her mentor in power and skill long before being imprisoned.

The reason many of the ponies she talked to had for being worried about Celestias need for secrets, was that a few days ago, a dragon had taken out most of the guard, and it was suspected that it only stopped because it was bored. Not only that, but the dragon disappeared soon after being taken to Celestia. So, it might still be in Canterlot.

After an hour of chatting with random Canterlot residents, it was time to see Celestia. Cadence was very curious about the dragon.

* * *

Celestia sat in the throne room, waiting for Cadence to arrive. For once, she had some good news to share. She had given the pink alicorn a pass to show the guard to ensure there wouldn't be any trouble after the first… incident.

A unicorn guard entered, followed by a pink pony wearing a brown coat, shades, and a hat with a pen and notepad attached to it.

After the guard left, Celestia said, "Cadence, do you have to wear a different costume every time? I'm sure the world wouldn't judge you for re-using a disguise occasionally."

Cadence laughed as she removed her hat and glasses, "that wouldn't be any fun. And besides, I was asking around the city for the latest gossip, and this fit the roll nicely. Now, what's this I hear about a dragon in Canterlot?"

Celestia couldn't help but grin, "the fates have blessed us with _very_ good news for once, my friend. Shall we go check on C.R.E.D. to see how they're doing?"

They went through the trapdoor, Celestia told Cadence to wait by the desk, then went into Night Study's room. Being left alone, Cadence noticed two new additional doors had been added, both with marks she didn't recognize. One of the marks drew her attention, and when she realized why, her hoof flew to her mouth. She thought back. Did Rarity have any descendants? No, she didn't. But then… why was this cutie mark so similar to the element of Generosity? Her thoughts were interrupted as Celestia returned, followed by Solar Ray, Night Study, a black unicorn mare, and a dragon.

A memory sparked to life in the back of Cadence's head. The dragon had purple scales and green spines just like…

"Spike?" the pink alicorn asked.

"In the scales." Spike said, bowing.

Cadence rushed forward to embrace her old friend, "We thought you'd been eaten when we couldn't find you! How did you avoid our tracking spells? Where have you been all this time?"

Spike, returning the hug, said, "that is a very long story. Perhaps I will tell you while Nyx is sparring with Celestia, as she has been somewhat bored with the three of us."

Cadence, noticing that everyone was staring, let go of Spike and changed the subject, "Nyx, is it? I'm afraid I haven't heard of you. Are you an accomplished fighter? Because it seems that Spike thinks so."

"Think so? I know so! We took her three on one and _still_ couldn't touch her."

Celestia spoke up, "Nyx has already overpowered me twice before. Cadence, why don't you test yourself against her."

Nyx blushed, and said, "you weren't trying the first time, and the second time I took you by surprise. I might have defeated the rest of the C.R.E.D. team, but I am hardly your equal."

Celestia smiled. "don't be modest dear, I would like to see how you fare against Cadence, then we can discuss things over lunch. I know a good place in Canterlot's shopping district."

"suit yourself" Nyx said.

After a brilliant flash of light, Solar Ray whistled and said, "wow, I've never seen either of them go all out like this before" as Nyx and Cadence clashed.

Nyx had started the fight by teleporting above her opponent, firing stunning lasers at Cadence. (The sparring rules banned the use of lethal spells or tactics.) She was still a bit nervous about using her full power, even against a fellow alicorn. However, Cadence was putting up much more of a fight than the others, so she gradually increased the scale of her attacks.

Soon, she was using a few tricks that she didn't get to use very often. She split into five copies, and each copy, in perfect sync, shot a continuous laser, creating a wall that slowly descended to the floor. Nyx merged into one pony again, and while the smoke cleared, a laser shot out of the cloud of dust, Nyx barely dodged it, and it clipped her glasses, sending them flying.

Nyx panicked, the glasses were hiding her eyes, and the spell had shattered one of the lenses. So, retrieving them would be pointless. " _well, the game is up!"_ She thought, taking off her headband and vest. The headband and vest were similar to the glasses. The headband hid the starry mane that was the signature look of Nightmare Moon. And the vest concealed not only her wings, but magically made her look shorter.

Night Study, seeing the wings, said, "Fascinating. I would never have guessed that Transfiguration magic could make a pony an alicorn, even briefly. Finding a master of it was a very good move, Celestia."

Celestia raised an eyebrow at that, saying, "Nyx is a master of many of the schools of magic, but that isn't transfiguration magic, she was actually using illusions to hide that she really is an alicorn."

Solar Ray spoke up, and said, "But, why haven't I heard of another alicorn?! …Wait a minute, what happened to her eyes and mane?"

"it is a curse she has had since she was a filly. All who know what those signify dread and fear her, even though she is not the monster they associate with them. I only hope Cadence doesn't overreact."

The smoke cleared, and Cadence was about to begin a massive offensive, only to stop dead in her tracks as she saw Nightmare Moon rushing at her, lightning flying off of the dark mare's mane.

She had never seen the Mare in the Moon in the flesh, but had seen the many stained-glass windows depicting her. Re-preparing her attack, Cadence stopped when Celestia's voice boomed across the sparring hall.

"Stop!"

Both combatants stared at the regal Princess of the Sun. Cadence began to protest, "Nightmare Moon has escaped! Can't you see that!?"

Celestia stepped forward, using her magic to give Nyx her (newly repaired) glasses back. Then said, "this is not Nightmare Moon, Cadence. This is Nyx. As a filly, she was shunned and hated because of her resemblance to that twisted mare. Come, we will discuss this over a meal."

* * *

The group traveled down a street in Canterlot City. Celestia had told Cadence not to worry about disguising herself, saying that it wouldn't be so odd for her to be without her guards if there was another alicorn and an eight-foot dragon behind her. Nyx, however, was back in filly form, riding on Spike's shoulder again.

The mismatched group arrived at a shop called "Twists & Turnovers" and Celestia asked, "Nyx, would you like to take a guess at who founded this place?"

Nyx, surprised at the randomness of the question, said, "I have no idea, Princess. Why do you ask?"

"I was told that you were part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and you had a friend in your little group who loved to make sweets. Her name is in the title of the store." Celestia said, as she led the group into the store.

"Twist… I miss her." Nyx said as the door was opened and the smell of peppermint enveloped her.

They sat down at a table and ordered some sweets. Celestia then began to tell the story of Nyx's origins.

Cadence leaned back in her seat. It was a lot to take in, and Celestia was obviously avoiding certain parts of the story. Sitting upright again, she asked, "What was Shining Armor doing during this?"

Celestia regal countenance broke, and she stammered, "um, ah, he was… "

Nyx stepped in, "he was brainwashed into fighting your rebel forces."

"By who?" Cadence asked, getting to the point quickly.

"The leader of the cult that created me; Spell Nexus. Although he himself was brainwashed from too much contact with the shreds of Nightmare Moon." Nyx answered.

The pink alicorn raised an eyebrow, and said, "The same shreds you were born from? Doesn't that make it kind of your fault?"

Nyx replied without flinching, "Yes and no. I was brought into existence by Spell Nexus after he was possessed by the negative emotions that belonged to Nightmare Moon. So, I had no control over what he did before I existed. And he was always very vague about the brainwashing process, which he called the "Blessing," and used it on your husband without me ever knowing the full effects."

But, there is one thing you should note, before you make any decisions. I am _not_ Nightmare Moon, and never will be. And my Cutie Mark Proves it." She directed the group's attention to the shield on her flank, and continued, "I got this mark because I decided that, as an immortal alicorn, I should do everything in my power to protect Equestria, no matter the cost. Those ideals wouldn't even cross Nightmare Moon's mind."

Cadence started to nod slowly in agreement, and said, "You do not have her Cutie Mark, I can see that. However, Nightmare Moon's lack of any kind of moral standard is exactly why I can't take you at your word. Also, on top of the fact that you will not cast your memory spell on me, the ability to multiply yourself and take on any shape leads me to believe that both Celestia and the C.R.E.D. team are locked up or dead, and Spike died a long time ago."

"I told you, you never met me, and only had a connection to me through hearing about me, so the memory spell wouldn't work." Nyx said in an exasperated tone.

Solar Ray and Night Study had been watching silently from the side, but Night Study decided it was time to interrupt, saying, "please forgive my interruption, Princess Cadence, but if we were all copies, then wouldn't the duel you had with Nyx tell you that she almost won with only a fifth of her power?"

Solar Ray continued for his sister, "That being said, why would she come to a public place such as this and reveal that you were in the city, when she could have taken you out of play when no one knew that you were here? Also, her shield Cutie Mark was on the door in the lab. If I recall correctly, you helped design it a very long time ago. Having designed it, you also know that the doors show the mark imprinted on its owner's soul, and they are only incorrect if use on a pony without a Cutie Mark."

Spike decided to pick up the argument, and said, "Your thoughts carry a lot of weight, and I know why you are cautious. But, truth to be told, even without the memories I possess, I would still rather believe her story than face the alternative, which is that Twilight _didn't_ win against Nightmare Moon."

Cadence grumbled, "you have made a very valid point, all of you. I still do not fully trust you, Nyx, but I will work on that after our current… problem."

Feeling that the issue was sufficiently dealt with, Nyx walked up to the counter and bought a few more peppermint sticks.

* * *

~A little over a thousand years ago. ~

Scootaloo returned home after the funeral. It was the last of the five ceremonies celebrating the life of the ponies who had saved Equestria countless times. It had started with Rarity, and ended with Rainbow Dash. She painfully flashed back to the day the first hero died…

* * *

It was a warm, quiet day in Ponyville, a calm before the storm of sorrow to be unleashed upon all of Equestria. Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle had been enjoying a slow day at the C.M.C. headquarters, and had seen Twilight walking towards the hospital with balloons that had "get well soon!" neatly printed on them. They approached her and Sweetie Belle asked, "Are you going to visit my sister? If you are, can we join you?"

Twilight Sparkle smiled weakly and said, "Of course, she is your sister after all."

As the group walked to the Hospital, Apple Bloom struck up a conversation with the lavender alicorn, "Do you remember, a long time ago, when we first started helpin' ponies, when you asked me to try and figure out the meaning of yer Cutie Mark?"

Twilight laughed at the memory, and replied, "I had completely forgotten, it was shortly after I asked you that I was pony-napped by Chrysalis. It was just a curious impulse, I just wanted to see what you came up with."

Apple Bloom laughed too, "Well, I forgot too, and only remembered yesterday. It took a lot of fact checking, but I have an answer for ya."

The princess of friendship looked at her expectantly, "And it is?"

"Well, it's a lot like with the other princesses' marks, Celestia has the sun, Luna has the moon, and Cadence literally has the Crystal Heart on her flank. Doing some Research, I discovered that the central star is the exact same as the mark on the tree of harmony, and the element of magic's original form, too. The other five stars surrounding it, I think represent the other Elements, and yer friends." Apple Bloom paused, and said "of course, this is only a theory, one that is riding on the idea that the central star is you and the Element of Magic."

Twilight looked at her Cutie Mark, "I believe you are correct, and it does make sense."

The group reached the hospital and Twilight said, "I might tell that to Rarity. She doesn't have much to do, and it might interest her."

Suddenly, Twilight felt a stinging pain on her flank, much like a burn. She looked for the source, and her heart skipped a beat. One of the stars on her cutie mark had vanished. She immediately teleported to the inside of the hospital. And Sweetie Belle ran as fast as she could to Rarity's room. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stood outside, silently hoping that they had just imagined seeing a Cutie Mark change so suddenly.

Twilight and Sweetie Belle's screams of dismay could be heard throughout Ponyville.

* * *

Scootaloo's flashback faded, and she wiped a few stray tears away and went to bed.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Nightmare Moon wandered around the halls of the "Castle of Friendship." Twilight insisted that it was called that, but it sounded to Nightmare Moon like the name of a really creepy museum. It had been two months since the barrier had started to let light through it, and the dark mare was determined to memorize the entire castle from top to bottom. She blamed getting lost as the reason for being stuck here for so long, but when she brought it up with Twilight, the lavender alicorn had quickly pointed out that those few seconds might have saved her from being split in half by the barrier.

The mental map in her head was almost complete, but there were still some gaps that needed to be filled. The section she was in was probably the largest of them, and thus had priority over the others. The castle was certainly complex, but it had a pattern that Nightmare Moon had eventually caught on to, in spite of the fact that it was remarkably plantlike. She checked every door she passed, even though they were all the same, a bed, writing desk, dresser and nightstand, always in the same formation.

It was in a room at the end of the hallway that she discovered something different, the furniture was arranged differently, and the desk had some quills and ink, still in prime condition courtesy of the castle's maintenance magic. Also, there was a mirror hanging on a wall, photos attached to its borders. Upon closer inspection, Nightmare found that each picture featured the six Elements of Harmony, and a pink unicorn with a green stripe running through her purple hair. This must have been Starlight Glimmer's room.

Nightmare Moon's eyes gleamed as she realized how much knowledge could be in the bookshelf across the room, another unique item that wasn't in the other rooms. As she skimmed the titles of the books, her spirits sank. All of them, literally every last one was another section of the deceased unicorn's notes on friendship. Nightmare picked a few of them up and flipped through the pages to make sure that the titles weren't decoys. _"Maybe there's something in the dresser."_ She thought, and proceeded to walk over to the previously mentioned object.

The bottom of the dresser had something that truly piqued Nightmare's interest; a book without a title. As she cracked open the cover, it immediately became apparent that this wasn't Starlight's hoofwrithing, and the black alicorn wondered how it had gotten there. The book was quite thick, but only the first few pages had been used.

1st entry- Today marks the beginning of the end. I have lost pets, family, and friends, but the pain I feel today is greater than all those combined. Rarity is gone. And now, I can clearly see the magnitude of being an alicorn. I will live for eternity, watching friends leave. How many funerals will I attend, until I finally must relinquish my title as Princess of Friendship? I don't think I will be able to make many more friends.

2nd entry- Fluttershy died today. I was going to visit Rarity. I've been doing this daily for a few months, and today, I saw Fluttershy lying in the grass in front of the grave. I thought nothing of it until I saw Angel Bunny the third feverishly trying to wake her. By the time I got Fluttershy to the hospital, she had left us.

3rd entry- The funeral for the Element of Kindness had more animals than ponies. This almost made me smile, but the weight of my loss held my lips down. I can't bring myself to speak in front of the ponies attending the funeral, not because I might break down, but because I will.

4th entry- I knew it would happen, but being prepared has not reduced the pain in the slightest. The resident party planner of Ponyville, Pinkie Pie, has passed away. She left while writing a letter to me, but never got past writing my name. I wish I knew what her last thoughts were, even if they were just the number of balloons she wanted at the ceremony.

5th entry- One more. One more friend gone, and one more friend remaining. I've decided to accompany Rainbow Dash everywhere she goes. Applejack died alone. I wasn't there when any of the others died, but I'll be there for her.

6th entry- Rainbow dash has agreed to let me follow her, on the condition that I go home while she's teaching at the Wonderbolt Academy. I can understand why. An alicorn princess would distract her students.

7th entry- I have started attending Dash's classes. Originally, I intended to only keep an eye on her, but learning the finer points of flying is proving to be a bonus. She doesn't know I'm there, I used an illusion spell attached to a sweatband to make myself look like an ordinary pegasus.

8th entry- Rainbow Dash caught me. The student behind me decided it would be funny to swipe my headband. The look on his face when the illusion wore off was almost worth it. Almost. Apparently, Dash was suspicious from the beginning, because she only knew of two ponies with that much interest in flight physics; Me and Scootaloo.

9th entry- Death is cruel. I have now lost all of my friends. I am completely alone. Spike left after Rarity died, and I do not blame him. Pity is not something I want following me around either. What's worse, Dashie died while she was sleeping, and I now feel that my friends fault me for becoming an alicorn, staying behind while they go on a new adventure. I need to make it up to them somehow.

10th entry- I have come to the conclusion that my duty as princess of friendship is to ensure that friendships are strong and that they last as long as possible. So, my mission is simple, I will gift all the ponies in Equestria with a greatly increased lifespan, therefore lengthening friendship durations. This will be my final act before following my friends.

Final entry- What is better than long life? Eternal life. And I _will_ succeed. Since when does Twilight Sparkle ever fail?

Nightmare Moon, after reading what had turned out to be a private journal of Twilight Sparkle, felt a twinge of pity for the fallen Princess. She had watched her entire world crumble, and couldn't do anything to stop it. The black mare pondered this for a few moments before walking towards the door to resume her walk through the castle.

Closing the door behind her, Nightmare Moon was at a turn in the hall when, without warning, her legs buckled beneath her and she blacked out.

* * *

As Nyx and the others returned to the castle, Cadence decided to strike up a conversation with Spike, asking, "So, Spike, you never got around to telling me how you avoided our tracking spells. How did you do it?"

The dragon looked down at the pink alicorn, and said, "it was simple. Do you remember how Shining  
Armor couldn't use his magic while his horn had black crystals covering it? Well, I did some research, and found that the crystals create a small field that swallows up any kind of magic, other than the dark magic used to create the crystals. I had some crystal armor custom made for myself, and had Twilight change the crystals into the black ones. I tried to be subtle about it, but it turned out that she already knew what I was doing, and surprised me when she let me leave anyway."

Cadence looked confused, and said, "But, Twilight never stopped trying to find you. Do mean to tell me that she was in on this?"

"yes, and she was probably waiting for me to take off the armor, but I only took it off when it was too small for me, several years after I left."

* * *

Nightmare Moon found herself on an island with many luminescent plants on various parts of it. It was her dreamscape.

She felt a presence behind her, and turned to face it. The "presence" was none other than her alter ego; Princess Luna.

The Princess of the moon stepped forward, saying, "After a thousand years of waiting, I had begun to think you weren't capable of feeling sorrow. I will make this brief, you must relinquish your hold on me."

Nightmare Moon chuckled, a laughter that soon grew in volume, till it was a fitting reminder of how twisted the black mare actually was. When she finally calmed down, Nightmare Moon said, "and on what grounds do you make this demand? You have no power, why should I take the back seat again and watch you be the pushover you always were?"

This time it was Luna's turn to laugh, though it was just a tiny smirk. Looking her nemesis in the eyes, she said, "Actually, you are the one without power. I can take everything you have, after all, it belongs to me. This time around, I didn't submit to you, instead I was transformed unwillingly, and now I can eradicate you myself."

The twisted mare looked at Luna as if she had grown a second head, "You can't destroy me! We are both bound together. If I go, so will you!"

The Princess of the Moon wore a very grim face as she said, "A price I am willing to pay for the pain I have caused. Today, I will right the wrong that I created two thousand years ago. All nightmares must end eventually."

* * *

Twilight Sparkle bolted upright in her bed, something was wrong, and a sixth sense had woken her. Checking for Nightmare Moon's magical signature nearby, she found nothing. Expanding her search, she sent her magic all the way to the barrier, and still, the mare in the moon was gone without a trace.

Using a different spell, Twilight instead searched for physical objects. Starting at her bedroom and working methodically from there, she finally found something irregular in the shape of a collapsed alicorn. It was difficult to judge size with this spell, but Nightmare Moon looked smaller.

Twilight exited her bedroom and turned on the crystal lights set into the ceiling of the hallways and headed towards the collapsed pony at the edge of the castle. Upon reaching the alicorn, she noticed two things. The first being that the mare's magical mane was thin and sickly looking, not flowing in the manner that it usually did. The second… that pony on the floor wasn't Nightmare Moon. It was Princess Luna, and she was dead.

It was as if all the color, sound, and feeling bled out of the world, leaving behind one simple truth for the fallen princess to face. This was her fault. Luna had died to rid the world of a villain that she, Twilight Sparkle, had brought back. Not only that, but she had brought the twisted mare back to entertain herself, not even thinking about the pain she had caused one of her only remaining friends. And finally, as a cruelly bitter icing on the cake, Twilight Sparkle realized that she had pushed her remaining friends away while trying to find satisfaction in her revenge on an unstoppable force; Death.

She had attacked one of the royal sisters, and forced the one pony in Equestria to which she owed everything to use a tactic reserved for the most dangerous enemies of Equestria. This was unforgivable.

She knew what she had to do. It wouldn't even slightly make up for her crimes, but Luna deserved a proper resting place.

* * *

Twilight created a walk-in tomb solely for the princess. After placing a crystal coating over the deceased pony to preserve her long enough for the barrier to come down and let Celestia say her goodbyes, she left to go think about what Celestia was going to do when the barrier came down.

* * *

Spike and the rest of the group returned to the C.R.E.D. room. It was getting late, and they gradually retreated to their rooms, even Cadence, who had simply created her own room for the night.

Nearly achieving sleep, Spike jerked awake when a knock at the door reached his ears. "Come in." he called.

Celestia stepped through the doorway, and said, "Spike, would you mind if I talked with you for a bit?"

"Not at all, Princess." The purple dragon replied.

The Princess of the Sun looked more tired and hopeless than any living being, be it pony or dragon, Spike had ever seen as she said, "What do you think we will find when the barrier fades?"

She was still standing at the doorway, and Spike gestured for her to sit down with him next to the fireplace. As she sat down, he said, "You fear that either your sister or your student is dead at the hands of the other, don't you?"

Celestia gave a weary nod.

"The same thoughts have been on my mind too. I have an answer for you, but it might not be as pleasant as you would like. If the Nightmare prevailed over Twilight, then without a doubt, the six heroes of Equestria have been united. But, if the opposite is true, we can only hope that our Twilight is not completely lost to us, and the shred of her that remains only imprisoned your sister as an alternative to the much darker alternative. The only consolation I can give you is that I cannot imagine anypony winning in a fight against Twilight, being as she is the Princess of Friendship, and Friendship is Magic.

* * *

Twilight wandered through the ruins of Ponyville, trying to think of a way to occupy herself until Celestia could administer justice to her, presumably through banishment to the moon, imprisonment in Tartarus, or community service. She shuddered at the last one as it entered her mind. She could bear losing a thousand more years, she didn't have anything or anypony to lose, after all. But the accusing eyes of ponies burning into the back of her head was one of the Nightmares that had haunted her since the death of Luna.

She stopped walking. "The _houses!_ " Twilight almost smiled as she thought of something to do to distract her, almost. With a one-track mind, she galloped down the street. She would restore Ponyville. Beginning with Sugarcube Corner.

* * *

Celestia collapsed into her bed, exhausted from the emotions of the day. As soon as she closed her eyes, she heard a voice.

" _So much hard work, and all in vain too."_

The white alicorn was on her feet in an instant. The voice sounded like her own, but she herself hadn't said a word. "Where are you?! Show yourself!"

" _Where am I? You present an interesting concept. You see, I am everywhere you are, where you go, I go. When you stay, I stay. To sum it all up, I am you, but while you try to see the best in everypony, I see the truth in them… their greed… their disloyalty… all of their… impurities…"_

The voice was coming from the corner of the room, and as she approached it, she said, "And who would possess these 'impurities' that I have failed to notice?"

" _Many possess them, but the most notable of them are the members of your precious inner circle. Spike and Nyx wish to side with their 'mother' against you. Night Study and Solar Ray will try to poison you with the armor they are making. And Cadence only wears the disguises so she can turn your subjects against you in secret."_

"Those are harsh accus-!" Celestia cut herself short when she looked in the mirror, for what she saw drove a spike of ice through her heart. It was her, every motion she made was the same, every feature was identical, except… the eyes. It was as if the fires of the sun were burning there. Remaining calm, she continued, "Those are harsh accusations to be throwing around without proof."

The reflection laughed and said, _"the proof is in front of you, dear. And besides, you didn't notice anything before your dear sister tried to kill you."_

"Enough!" Celestia said as she raised a hoof and brought it down on the mirror, sending shards of glass flying from the force of the blow.

Immediately, a guard rushed into her room, and upon finding no threat to the princess, noticed the blood dripping from her hoof and escorted her to the castle medic.

* * *

Immeasurably far away, in another dimension to be precise, a draconequus was siting upside down in a rocking chair on the ceiling, anyone seeing this would think this was strange, but it only got stranger as the mythical being suddenly stiffened up and looked straight at… me?

 _Who are you!? And why are you talking about me like that?!_

Um… I'm the narrator, and was doing my job…

I'm only kidding. I already know who you are. Shall we continue?

Of course, sir.

But it only got stranger as the mythical being suddenly stiffened up and-

Hey! A being of chaos does not 'stiffen up!' It's more like a wiggle.

Fine! But please, no more interruptions.

But it only got stranger as the mythical being suddenly made a wriggling motion and fell to the floor. Discord could feel magical disturbances, and he had just felt the beginning of a massive one.

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys, sorry for the massive wait time for this chapter, I got stuck with a very serious case of writers' block. I'm fine now, but the doctors tell me that there may be a relapse. Also, big thanks to Jatheus for the useful writing tips.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the long wait, ladies and gents. I promise that it wasn't writers block this time. I have been working on a new story, and I will be uploading the first chapter shortly. I'm calling it 'Spike's Origins,' and you should check it out. Thanks!**

"All nightmares must end eventually." Luna said boldly.

Nightmare Moon obviously didn't like that, because she immediately lashed out at Luna, throwing all of her being into one attack.

Time seemed to slow down as the condensed energy flew at Luna. However, instead of using any of the things she could do to avoid being hit, like dodging or blocking, she simply stood there and took the hit. Had there been anypony watching, they would have seen a flicker of accomplishment in her eyes as the magic seemed to simply fuse with her and absorb all of Nightmare Moon's power, lifeforce, and even existence.

But, just as her Nemesis predicted, Celestia's sister soon began fading away as well.

Both ponies drifted towards the sky. As Luna reached the mysterious abyss of space, far enough away from the ground that she could see the sun and moon at the same time, she heard a voice whisper _"Congratulations, you foal, you have died for nothing."_

Luna felt pain similar to having a hot knife driven through her heart, and could only gasp in agony and watch the wispy remains of Nightmare Moon fly directly into the sun.

* * *

" _Some hero you were…"_ Luna thought, guilt consuming her. If she could have, she would've been crying, but this ethereal form lacked the ability to do so.

' _It seems that the for the third time, I have unleashed darkness upon the world, and unlike the Tantabus incident, I now have no control over it.'_ She thought.

"…no. I will finish this, and I won't stop until I do!" The Princess of the Moon yelled. Then, using sheer willpower as her tether to life, she brought herself down to the ground, and as her hooves touched down, she was engulfed by darkness.

* * *

Entering consciousness, Luna tried to sit up, but was immediately stopped by a skin-tight shell covering her body. She couldn't even open her eyes because of it. _'Did I die, and this is my punishment?'_ she thought as she tried to move her legs, turn her head and even spread the wings on her back, but it was no use. She began to panic, getting the feeling that if she didn't move RIGHT NOW, her mind was going to break. She tried to scream, but couldn't get any air in or out of her lungs, which were starting to burn.

Suddenly, as if some god took pity on Luna, she could breathe normally and move her legs. But… she was still wearing… something. And upon opening her eyes, there was still darkness. She was lifted into the air, as if gravity decided to release the alicorn from its grip for a few moments. A breath of air brushed against her back and the silky material was removed.

A low voice from the darkness said, "Calm down dear Princess, being trapped like that is unpleasant, I would know. But you're free now."

The voice was vaguely familiar, but a thousand years had taken a toll on Luna's memory. On the other hoof, she was hysterical. The near-death experience combined with the horrible feeling of immobility made her much more touchy-feely than usual, and in the darkness, she reached out and embraced her hidden savior. Whomever had saved her gently patted the sobbing Princess' back as she released shaky breaths.

* * *

Celestia walked through a forest of crystal trees. In the distance, she heard a voice call out.

"Sister? Where did you go?"

"Luna!" Celestia cried out, searching around for the source of the voice.

"D-did my sister abandon me?" Luna was heard asking herself.

The princess of the sun dashed in the direction of the voice, calling out, "Luna, where are you!?"

She found a filly version of Luna crying to herself in a clearing amongst the trees, sighing Celestia said, "There you are, sister. Are you okay?"

Suddenly, the filly grew taller and her mane began flowing like water. "You dare return here after leaving me for dead? Does your status as _princess_ make you believe I would ever forgive you? You are no sister of mine, all you are is a coward without a proper name to fit." As she spoke, her voice became deeper, and she turned revealing the face of Nightmare Moon. The dark mare pounced at Celestia, jaws opening impossibly wide as she swallowed the white alicorn.

Celestia felt herself falling, and she hit the ground hard enough to blur her vision. As her eyes cleared up, she saw Nyx and Spike on either side of Twilight, who was speaking to Night Study and Solar Ray.

"Your employers are free to take Equestria, so long as you inform them that I will not tolerate attempts to track me down." She said, gesturing for them to leave. Then, turning to the Princess of the Sun, she grinned maliciously and said, "Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned how completely and utterly pathetic you are." With each word, Twilight took another step forward, and as she completed her sentence, she reached Celestia and lashed out with a lavender hoof.

Celestia woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily.

"It's just a dream" She told herself, over and over to no avail. Standing, she went to go make some green tea to help her nerves.

* * *

Luna sat in rigid attention as her rescuer gave her instructions.

"It would be within your best interests if you were to remain hidden from Twilight. Here, this should help you hide your magical presence, here."

Luna felt a large wad of… what felt like cloth being pressed into her hooves.

"The rest is up to you, Luna." The voice said.

As he began to leave, Luna said, "May I at least have the name of my rescuer?"

The voice let out a gasp, and said, "You don't remember _me_?! Well, being as you've been through a lot, I forgive you this time."

She heard a snap, and the whole room she was in was illuminated revealing a hexagonal room with stone carved to imitate the night sky, a pedestal decorated similarly, and a stairway leading presumably to the outdoors. She looked around for the source of the mysterious voice, but couldn't find anypony.

Laughing he said, "Up here!"

Luna raised her eyes upward to see none other than… Discord.

Luna's face flamed in embarrassment.

However, before she could yell at him for letting her hug him and ask how he got here, he vanished in a flash of light.

She would have called after him, but he was right about one thing, and it was that Twilight mustn't know that she was here. Looking down at the thing she had been given, her first thought was that Discord was messing with her, because it was some kind of costume, designed for the wearer to walk around on their back legs. The only problem was that she had no idea what it was supposed to be.

It had a large spherical head with two perfectly round, disk shaped ears. Most of the head was black except the face, which tan with black and white cartoon eyes and a long pointy nose with a round black tip. The mouth was set in a permanent smile with a 'v' shaped chin and a red tongue. And that was just the head, the body had red pants, a thin tail, disproportionately long arms and legs, which ended in white gloves and yellow shoes respectively.

All things considered, it was the strangest creature Luna had ever seen. But when she tried to analyze it with magic, it felt as if nothing was there, so she put it on, waiting for the right time.

* * *

As Twilight began the finishing touches on Sugarcube Corner, she heard a _very_ familiar voice say, "How the mighty have _fallen._ "

Continuing her work without any hesitation whatsoever, she said, "Hi Discord."

The Draconequus looked like he'd been slapped. "Aren't you surprised to see me!?"

"No, not really, because in all probability, you're just a hallucination brought forth by lack of social stimuli combined with emotional duress." Twilight said, still not stopping.

"You said it yourself, Twilight. You need more social straws—

"Stimuli."

"-that's what I said. You need more of those, and even if you think I'm not actually here. You should listen to me, because we are going to have a very _serious_ discussion regarding your… regicidal pastimes."

Twilight looked like she had been stabbed, agony flooding across her face. Recovering, she said, "That only proves that you are a figment of my imagination, I have been supposedly visited by Celestia, Pinkie Pie and Spike, all of whom were manifestations of my guilt, and said enough to prove it."

Discord's eyebrows rose as he heard this, and he said, "Well I don't _think_ I'm fake, but that could just be that your mind has emulated me perfectly. Hmm…" His eyes lit up as he thought of a way to prove his existence. Making an object appear in his paw, he waved it in front of the depressed alicorn, saying, "Look, a signed, first edition copy of advanced magical theory!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, waiting to see where he was going with this.

He opened the book, and ripped it down the spine. Looking at Twilight for a reaction, and being disappointed at not seeing one, he said, "Yeesh! You must be really depressed if that didn't faze you."

She rolled her eyes, turned around, and walked out of the newly restored Sugarcube Corner. "I need to quit wasting time, I have work to— "

She was cut off as something hard struck the back of her head, sending her into unconsciousness.

Discord stood over the collapsed alicorn holding a stick labeled "Goodnight Twilight." Tossing the stick behind him, he transported himself and Twilight to her room, saying, "As a friend, I have to say that you look like you haven't slept in days."

* * *

Twilight woke up in her room, unsure of how she got there. She hadn't slept since Luna… left. Looking around, she saw a form sitting in the shadows at her writing desk, and heard a voice say, "After I convince Twilight that she should help me save Equestria, this whole mess will be over, and I can finally join you, my treasured friend."

Twilight activated a night vision spell, and saw Discord mournfully looking at a locket with a picture inside, depicting his best friend, Fluttershy. She felt a stab of pain in her heart for the Draconequus, and said, "You believe there is an afterlife, then?"

The Spirit of Chaos spun around, making the locket disappear in a flash of light. His acting skills were to be commended, however, as he quickly regained his composure and said, "That is a very interesting question, Miss Sparkle. But first, I have to know, do you still believe I am a figment of your overburdened mind?"

The lavender alicorn thought for a moment, and replied, "You are certainly a more interesting hallucination than usual, if you are one. For now, I'll try to convince myself that you are, in fact, real."

Discord figured that it was probably the best answer he was gonna get, and nodded to himself. "As for my belief in living after death, I would say yes, I believe that there is an afterlife. I have lived countless eons, and know that I can still die at any time. The fact of the matter, is that there isn't a living thing on the planet that doesn't want to continue existing after they leave this world. Throughout my immense travels, I have never met a pony, griffon, or any other creature that still told themselves that there wasn't anything after death while they were knocking on deaths door. I simply believe that it is pointless to suddenly change your views of reality at the last second because of fear. And I don't feel like telling myself that I will never see… my friends again. Besides, I've met death personally."

"It's been a while since I last saw you, Discord. But that seemed… a lot more serious than you usually are." Twilight said, feeling the weight behind his words.

"What, you ask a question like that, and expect me to give you a sarcastic comment?" the draconequus said, a little offended. "I am perfectly capable of being serious when I want to be."

Twilight sighed. "Whatever. What do you want? I haven't seen you since Fluttershy-

"DO NOT SPEAK HER NAME!" Discord shouted, suddenly growing angry. "You dishonored her by destroying the life that she spent every waking moment trying to preserve. And you did it in the name of friendship, no less."

"I was trying to-

"Don't try to feed me that nonsense garbage about you trying to 'stop death.' The fact of the matter is that you messed with a crucial part of nature, and paid the price without thinking that there might be others who suffer. You forced Celestia to cut off Ponyville from the rest of the world, and… do you hear that? Oh yeah, there isn't anything to hear because you killed off the entire ecosystem here, and every animal with it!"

Discord took a breath to calm himself. "But, you can't change the past. You can only use it to reinforce the future."

Twilight had never seen the spirit of chaos angry, and it was intimidating, to say the least. Timidly, she spoke up, "Why are you here, then? I am painfully aware of my mistakes, and what I did to Luna was unforgivable. I forced her into the darkest part of her past, and trapped her in it until she died. I would do anything just to apologize to her. But as you said, you can't change the past."

Discord frowned and stroked his chin hair. He had hidden Luna from her so she wouldn't turn her back into Nightmare Moon and make an already bad situation worse. His original intention was to reveal that she was alive if Twilight showed that she wouldn't do that. However, now he realized that Twilight's remorse was riding on Luna being gone, and there was no way to predict if she would have a relapse if the Princess of the Moon popped up. Speaking, he said, "As a being of pure chaos, I could arrange for you to apologize to her if you do me a favor." (He really could, even if Luna had really been dead. The list of dimensions that he could travel to included the Endless Fields, although he never went because Death had told him herself that she would keep him if he came back again.)

Needless to say, that caught The Fallen Princess's attention. "What kind of favor?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well… since you were able to mess with an aspect of nature, you are probably aware of the fact that elements, not the tree of harmony kind though, in their purest forms can only truly be destroyed by their opposite, otherwise they only transfer to a new host, or form. The fact of the matter is that there are several things that are currently 'hosting' a few of these. For example, the sun itself holds the pure element of fire. And the tree of harmony is so powerful because it hosts both Light and Harmony, the only elements that can sustain themselves. The purest form of darkness was once hosted by a certain Mare in the Moon, I believe…" Discord broke off his lecture, letting Twilight fill in the blanks.

As she did so, the color drained from her face. "The darkness will try to find another host… but who?"

"Actually, I was going to go track it after I filled you in." Discord said.

"How am I supposed to help you from in here?" The lavender alicorn asked.

"Simple, you need to repair the broken Element of Magic so we can save Equestria, just like old times." At that, Discord disappeared in a flash of light. And Twilight set herself to work.

* * *

Spike stood anxiously outside the barrier, alongside the rest of the C.R.E.D. team. It was clear like glass, now, another sign that it would come down in a few hours. Behind them stood a congregation of every able-bodied unicorn in Equestria. They had planned, trained, and planned again, but Spike was still incredibly nervous, and the others were showing signs of being anxious as well.

The plan was to have the unicorns behind them fuel a shield spell around the barrier itself, to prevent any escape if things got messy. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, though. They were hoping to just have a chat with Twilight, and try to get her rehabilitated. The purple dragon knew better though. Twilight was notoriously stubborn, and only a great shock could break through the wall she always put up to arguments. According to Celestia, the 'shock' would come from him and Nyx.

Celestia would be in control of the shield the unicorns were going to fuel, shaping it and forming it. She would still be with them to talk to Twilight, but the shield had a special function that only an alicorn could use. It was as long lived as the pony controlling it.

In spite of all of their planning, they were incredibly underprepared. Night study hadn't completed her research into armor materials, and the only pony who could fight Twilight on equal footing was Nyx. And there was another problem; if Nyx failed to tag the lavender alicorn with a memory spell, she would likely pull her punches during the fight, and the sentiment wouldn't be returned.

The honest truth was that if they failed today, there wouldn't be a tomorrow.

* * *

Twilight stood on the balcony of the castle. Discord still hadn't returned, and it had been several months. The barrier was now clear like glass, and was creating a greenhouse effect, roasting everything. She let out a sigh. There was no mistaking the white alicorn, even from this distance. _'well, I suppose I should meet her on level ground'_ Twilight thought to herself.

She descended the staircase, exited the castle, and trotted over to where she had last seen Celestia. She was still in the same spot, and immediately stiffened up when she saw her old student. Next to her, stood some old faces, and some new ones as well. She saw Cadence, three unicorns, one of which was a little black filly. And a vaguely familiar purple and green draconic creature. She stared at the dragon, and remembered where she had last seen those colors.

Knowing that they wouldn't be able to hear her, she conjured up a few purple letters and a question mark.

 _Spike?_

The dragon nodded. His eyes were sad and scared, and looking at the two alicorns, she saw the same fear in their eyes as well. The only one that didn't look scared was the filly, who was instead tearing up behind her glasses and smiling, for some reason. She put up some more letters:

 _How much longer?_

Celestia was the one to answer, with her own gold letters.

 _A few minutes to an hour._

They proceeded to have a game of Q and A.

 _How long have I been here?_

 _Around a thousand years._

 _How is Flurry Heart?_

 _Fine._

 _Have you seen Discord recently?_

 _No._

It continued like this for a few minutes, Twilight casually asking questions, and Celestia only giving the required response. Twilight knew she should have expected this. The army of unicorns behind her mentor should have clued her in.

Bowing her head in sorrow, she turned and slowly headed to the graveyard, leaving a glowing purple line in her wake. The Princess needed to learn of the fate of her sister.

* * *

Spike stood there in shock. He had expected Twilight to have a spark of madness in her eyes, like during the 'lesson zero' incident. Instead, the alicorn looked dead inside, as if shame had eaten her from within. She had even recognized him, and after a few minutes of random questions, she turned and headed away from them, leaving a trail obviously meant for the C.R.E.D. team to follow.

He turned to look at Celestia. Her answers had been short and to the point, but that was to be expected, she was the most tense and nervous about this. And she was obviously worried about her sister.

Ever since the barrier had become clear, scouts had been sent to observe everything they could see from outside. That was a month ago, and they still hadn't seen any living thing, other than Twilight passing a window in her castle. No Nightmare Moon. No Princess Luna.

Spike's thoughts were interrupted by a loud *crack*. Then another sounded, and another. Suddenly, a sound like a breaking window magnified by ten times the volume echoed across the area. The barrier was gone.

The team began following the glowing purple line, watching for any traps that could have been laid out in the purple tinted area. Spike and Nyx weren't worried much about this, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The line eventually ended at the Ponyville Cemetery. They instantly spotted the fallen princess sitting in front of five tombstones, each with some very recognizable markings. Three butterflies, three apples, a rainbow lightning bolt, three balloons, and Spike's heart grew heavy when he recognized the one on the far left, the first to be placed. Three diamonds.

The purple dragon stepped forward and sat in front of Rarity's resting place. He bowed his head and spoke softly, so soft that Twilight couldn't hear. "I am so sorry, Rarity. If I had stayed, maybe this disaster could have been avoided. If I had stayed, I could have been a good dragon and paid my respects to the greatest fashionista to walk on this planet. _I'm sorry._ " If he could have, Spike would have been crying, but his tears had dried up long ago.

He stepped back, standing next to the rest of the team. Twilight stood and turned around.

The lavender alicorn decided to break the silence, and asked, "Well, what's going to happen now?"

"That depends on your answers to the two questions I have for you." Celestia answered with icy steel in her voice. "What do you plan to do now, and, Where. The buck. Is my sister?"

Twilight lowered her head and said, "I plan to accept whatever punishment you see fit, and… and…" Her voice wavered slightly and she simply looked over at a crypt standing on the edge of the graveyard. It had stars and moons carved into the sides.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" Celestia yelled.

Twilight, voice wavering, said, "L-Luna is n-no more, and it is my fault."

That was the breaking point. Spike expected the Princess of the sun to explode in a fit of rage. But what she did was oh-so-much-worse. The white alicorn began to float up into the air, and her eyes began to glow white. Then out of nowhere, a misty substance that was as black as night appeared and swirled around her, forming a cocoon of darkness.

"Stop her, quick!" Nyx called out from behind Spike, an immeasurable terror riding on her voice.

Spike stepped forward, but it was too late. The cocoon came back down, and dispersed, revealing a white alicorn with flames for hair and eyes that seemed to burn away any light that tried to reach them. "Celestia! Stop this before it's too late!" Spike called hoping his fears weren't correct.

The fire mare laughed, and said, "I have ruled over this land for thousands of years. And I have learned one… very simple… fact…" her voice was deep and regal, and seemed to come from everywhere at once. "Ruling with kindness always fails, and has proven useless uncountable times. Let it be known that I, Daybreaker, will burn my enemies to ash, and enforce my will with the flames of purification." She vanished in a vortex of fire, leaving the remaining ponies alone.


	12. My deepest apologies for the delay

p class="MsoNormal"I will be rewriting this story because I feel that the quality is significantly lacking. For now, I will not be releasing any more chapters because I'm working on this story along with a few others. If you'd like some more info, check my profile page. Thank you!/p 


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